When Essence Griffin started working as a flight attendant in 2022 she was thrilled. <\/p>\n
Griffin was in her early 20s and desperate to see the world. The years stuck at home during the pandemic had \u201clit a fire\u201d inside her. <\/p>\n
At first, Griffin\u2019s job as a flight attendant for a US airline felt like the perfect opportunity. But after just over a year of flying, she decided to take a step back. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m taking a break now,\u201d she says. \u201cI got burned out.\u201d <\/p>\n
Griffin\u2019s not alone. Working as a flight attendant might sound like a dream job \u2013 but in a post-pandemic aviation landscape defined by delays, lost luggage, staffing issues and disruptive passengers, the dream is souring for some. <\/p>\n
2020 saw many aviation workers furloughed, while those still working risked falling ill. Then, as the pandemic waned and airplanes returned to the skies, airlines struggled to restaff quickly enough to match demand. <\/p>\n
When aviation returned, disruptive passengers seemed more prevalent than ever \u2013 with the then-obligatory wearing of face masks often the inciting factor. Since 2021, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reported a \u201crapid growth\u201d in \u201cincidents where airline passengers have disrupted flights with threatening or violent behavior.\u201d <\/p>\n
US flight attendant Rich Henderson, who\u2019s been flying for a decade, says during the pandemic, \u201cthe whole thing shifted, the whole environment and the energy in the environment shifted.\u201d <\/p>\n
In Henderson\u2019s opinion, it\u2019s all yet to shift back \u2013 staffing, scheduling and long days remain an issue, while disruptive passenger incidents are a continuing concern. <\/p>\n
These issues are not specific to the US, according to Dutch flight attendant Juliana Oliveira. <\/p>\n
Flight attendants don\u2019t want delays any more than passengers, adds Oliveira, suggesting there is a misconception that crew are paid during long waits on the ground. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe only get paid from the turning on of the engine until turning off,\u201d she says. There are certain airlines that are exceptions to this rule, but this is the general policy. <\/p>\n
The FAA stipulates that flight attendants in the US are supposed to clock off after 14 hours. But Henderson says \u201conce the door of the aircraft is closed, we\u2019re powerless, so we can go illegal while we\u2019re in the middle of working a sequence if we\u2019re still on the plane.\u201d <\/p>\n
Oliveira says flight attendants in Europe have similar limitations on working hours under the European Aviation Security Agency (EASA) but \u201cwe can go further than 14 hours under special conditions.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not get extra pay for extra hours,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
When Covid happened, all of the fun parts of being a flight attendant, all of the satisfying, exciting parts of being a flight attendant were stripped from the job <\/p>\n
Rich Henderson, flight attendant <\/p>\n
Extra long days make dealing with disruptive passengers all the more draining. Henderson recalls a \u201cday that clocked in at 17 hours and one minute\u201d which ended with a hostile passenger interaction <\/p>\n
\u201cI had a passenger throw a cup at me, tell me I was worthless and tell me that I was horrible at my job,\u201d says Henderson. \u201cI felt so dehumanized.\u201d <\/p>\n
Data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) suggests an \u201cincreasing frequency and severity\u201d of disruptive passenger incidents: a June 2023 IATA report states there was one unruly incident reported for every 568 flights in 2022, up from one per 835 flights in 2021. <\/p>\n
The problem\u2019s so omnipresent there\u2019s a whole conference dedicated to the issue \u2013 Dispax World, the international conference on unruly airline passenger management and restraint, set to take place in October 2023 in Prague in the Czech Republic. <\/p>\n
The conference will gather legal experts, academics, officials and flight attendants to discuss what they call \u201cthe scourge of unruly passenger behavior.\u201d <\/p>\n
IATA data suggests the most common issue among disruptive passengers is \u201cnon-compliance.\u201d With mask-wearing no longer compulsory, it\u2019s passengers smoking, failing to fasten seatbelts when instructed and consuming their own alcohol on board the aircraft that are among the top issues. <\/p>\n
Henderson suggests there was an onboard passenger behavioral shift in 2020 that\u2019s only continued to spiral in the years since. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think during Covid, and that sort of era, people were really emboldened to speak up when they felt like something was wrong or unjust \u2013 whether or not it actually was is debatable \u2013 but people just felt more empowered to push back on rules,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re still in a time period where people just feel they can get away with whatever they want.\u201d <\/p>\n