Flight attendants have become impervious to bad behavior by the passengers. They are stereotyped and not treated with the respect they deserve. As a society, we must change our sexist and classist attitudes toward them.
Recently, a video surfaced where a man was heard calling an Indigo flight attendant “servant.” She rightly defended herself and her fellow crew members by saying, “I am an employee, not your servant.”
People are absolutely averse to basic morals and how to treat another human being. The crew members are not servants, and neither are servants supposed to be treated as slaves. Unfortunately, Indigo did not stand by their staff.
There are some dimwitted ones who call them waiters (again, no offence to any category of job profile here). There are myths that women just have to apply makeup, be presentable, greet guests, and be polite in this job. It’s a common perception that they don’t have much work, which is wrong.
Before joining as a Flight attendant they are given three months of training by the company (in this case, Indigo). They surely have to be presentable. They are taught to groom themselves perfectly. They also have to be strong (both physically and mentally) and smart. They are taught how to save a life in an emergency, give CPR, and provide other medical care. They are trained to provide the best possible care when pregnant women, senior citizens, differently abled people, or children travel.
In a minimum flight duration of 90 minutes, they have a number of duties to be covered. Once they are inside the aircraft, they have to,
- Check Equipments
- Check the food cart and take the handover from the previous crew.
- Greeting the passengers and boarding
- Safety briefings are to be done.
- Door closing is to be done according to protocol. Slides used for evacuation have to be armed. As a result, when the door opens in an emergency, it slides open automatically.
- Safety demonstration has to be given.
- The cabin and gallery have to be secured for takeoff.
- Be seated in the jump seat for takeoff.
- After takeoff, food and beverages have to be given out.
- Handling any medical issues that may arise during the flight
- Clearance of trash
- The cabin and gallery have to be secured for landing during descend
- Be seated in the Jump seat again for landing
- Disarming the sides
- Deplaning
Apart from handling all these duties, they have to deal with passengers who call them continuously for one thing or another. Some people will complain that the crew should serve them first, as opposed to the row-wise service.
We’ve all seen how Neerja Bhanot used her wit to save the lives of passengers on Pam Am Flight 73. It is not expected that everyone will do the same, but they have the responsibility for those 180 passengers’ lives. If anything happens to them, the crew are questioned.
They have to fly multiple times in a day or night, in an air pressure environment, have multiple duties, and after that, they also have to deal with unruly passengers. Some days they have shifts that extend to 10–12 hours. 12 hours in a pressurised cabin is not advisable for a human body. These are some of the effects of plane travel on the human body.
- Acute sleep deprivation
- Reduced attention
- altered mood states
- reduced memory processing
- Altered executive functioning (cognitive ability to plan, manage time, direct resources, etc.)
- hypoxemia (problem related to breathing or circulation)
Let us talk about harassment.
These ladies also have to manage men who misbehave. There are some who touch them and pretend that it was a mistake. Some people will persistently request for a selfie. Then there will be stalkers who will note down their names and send requests and messages on social media. Some men even make lewd remarks, which are later reported. Some men purposefully tell them to put their bags in the overhead compartment, which they can do on their own.
They have complained about people harassing them about meals or meal prices which are entirely the company’s policy. They are pestered even in cases of bad weather, without thinking that the crew cannot handle weather conditions and that the pilot cannot fly in bad weather.
People fail to listen to guidelines which are announced. The crew has to announce multiple times to put their phones in flight mode, fasten their seat belts, or be seated in case of turbulence, landing, or takeoff.
On international flights, there will be drunk passengers who will make things even more difficult for the crew.Further, there are some who will scream or insult the crew without reason. The crew has to pacify them too.
Some bizarre complaints are made by passengers that the Flight attendant did not smile at them. Such people just need a reminder that the crew are human beings and not robots. There may be days when they are unable to smile.
Recently, a woman was arrested after a flight in the United States because she attempted to open the aircraft’s side door at 37,000 feet and make an emergency landing. Apparently, Jesus told her to open the door. They have to handle such passengers too.
They do not have fixed work hours. Their schedule calls them on duty in the morning, afternoon, evening, or even in the middle of the night. The typical society mentality will term them as arrogant as they walk with their heads held high. Well, why shouldn’t they walk with pride and swagger? They are one of the best in the hospitality field.
