0 min left

FA’s Afraid to Enforce the Rules After David Dao?

Flight attendants are scared of customers – and it might be starting to affect safety rules on flights.

Thanks to a string of incidents between airline staff and travelers in the recent past, especially the incident where Dr. David Dao was forcibly dragged off a plane, flight attendants are coming forward to say they feel more fearful at work.

“Some passengers feel now that they can be more defiant and that has us on edge,” one of three flight attendants who spoke to ABC News on condition of anonymity said.

All three are fearful that they may be attacked, or that as soon as there’s a problem, they’ll be recorded.

“I don’t want them to be afraid of me, but I also don’t want them to … break, or cause, a security breach, because now we tell them, ‘The fasten seat belt sign is on’ or ‘Please be seated,’ now the camera phones are coming out,” another flight attendant told ABC.

But the biggest issue is it might be impacting safety on the planes. Defiant passengers are no longer complying with seat belt regulations, cellphone restrictions, or even the requirement to verbally agree that you can assist in the exit row in case of an emergency.

“There’s other times when you’re trying to get someone to comply, and three rows back … a shout, ‘Careful, they’re going to drag you out,'” another attendant told the news station. “And the cameras, or the phones … you’ll see phones, I’m not saying they’re up filming, but you see them and then the whole situation makes you pause and want to step back.”

Comments are Closed.
3 Comments
I
inet32 October 19, 2017

In the David Dao case a pax who had already been issued his seat and seated in it, was forcibly removed because of a stupid airline algorithm. THAT's what undermines the authority of the FA and respect for the airlines' rules. The airlines' policies are creating feelings of hostility and disrespect by the flying public and it's unfortunate that the FAs are on the front lines of this. But their union should be complaining to the airline that the airline's policies are making the FAs' jobs more difficult.

A
Abyssin October 17, 2017

Why on ly US FA's seems to have so many problem with customers or affraid to have some .....Is it not because too much rules ( some are totally silly) kills all the rules or just because there is a lack of service due to years unions battles that make customers angry ? Like the rule to not helping pax with their hand bags (even very old ladies), which is stupid for me.

S
SarcasticMisanthrope October 15, 2017

Tough.