Flight Attendants’ Rep: ‘We’re Back to Pre-9/11 Passenger Attitudes’

Travel Blog  •  Michael Yessis  •  06.11.07 | 12:35 PM ET

imageTranslation: “[T]ension between airline employees and passengers is rising, and passengers are ruder and more volatile than in the past,” according to a USA Today story by Gary Stoller. Some statistics support the assertion. The Federal Aviation Administration “cited 1,738 ‘unruly’ passengers for illegally interfering with the duties of a flight crew during the seven years ended in 2006, or an average of 248 a year. From 1995 to 1999, there were an average of 198 per year,” Stoller writes. Reports of passenger misconduct from flight attendants and other airline workers to NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System are also high, according to the story, and could be higher because many employees are not aware of the system.

Stoller’s story suggests that flight attendants, by virtue of being the front-line workers, are the unfortunate targets of angry passengers who have to endure long security lines, delayed flights, lack of food and overbooked planes. “[S]tudies have shown that crowding in a confined space can lead to aggression,” Stoller writes. “Full planes also limit airline agents’ ability to rebook passengers after a cancellation or missed flight, creating more opportunities for passenger rage.”

So next time you’re flying and you feel ready to vent, remember what Corey Caldwell, a spokeswoman for the national Association of Flight Attendants, tells Stoller: “We’re in this together, flying in the same aircraft cabin at 30,000 feet.”

Related on World Hum:
* Happy Birthday, Stewardesses
* The New Hot Job in India: Flight Attendant
* Flight Attendant to Gay Couple: Stop the Touching and Kissing or We’ll Divert this Plane
* Armrest Seating, Anyone? Climb Aboard an Airline Where a Full Bladder is the Least of Your Worries.

Photo by Sugar Sweet Sunshine via Flickr (Creative Commons).



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