Skift Take
Flight attendants feeling the brunt of unruly passengers are not feeling protected. If airlines don't want to lose these valuable workers, lose revenue and potentially set travel's recovery back with canceled flights, more must be done by the government to ensure their safety.
One in five flight attendants so far this year has been involved in physical altercations with unruly passengers and 85 percent of cabin crew members have dealt with disruptive passengers this year as more are returning to travel, a survey released by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) revealed on Thursday.
The online survey of 5,000 flight attendants across 30 airlines found more than half have experienced at least five incidents with unruly passengers, with flight attendants reporting incidents of swearing, yelling, aggressive behaviors, racial and homophobic slurs, and physical assaults.
Unwilling to accept this new normal, the AFA is calling on the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Justice to make the 'zero tolerance' policy permanent.
“This survey confirms what we all know, the vitriol, verbal and physical abuse from a small group of passengers is comp