The events of the past week in our very public industry, while presenting significant challenges to those Flight Attendants directly involved, serve to highlight the importance of our training, while reinforcing our commitment to the traveling public and our profession.  While this week’s events have been highlighted more heavily in the press than perhaps many of the day-to-day challenges we face every day on every flight, collectively these events demonstrate the value of our work and our daily contribution to our airlines.

Regardless of whether we started our careers years ago or within the past month, we share a common mission.  We are aviation’s first responders and the final line of defense in the sky.  While there is no question, we are the welcoming face of our respective airlines, we are ultimately there to safeguard the passengers in our care and to protect the aircraft from any threat with which we may be faced in the course of our workday.

As a crew, we demonstrate the importance of and value that comes from working together.  We stand with our flying partners, pilots and passengers on the aircraft as we face unexpected challenges. Through the pandemic we stood united against aviation worker assault, which skyrocketed in part due to the highly politicized masking policy. Flight Attendants were on the front lines experiencing harassment, verbal, and physical assault. We called on the airlines, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to enact stronger repercussions for anyone that would harm a Crew Member and interfere with our duties to keep the aircraft safe.

United recognized the “quick action” of the flight crew and passengers in their collective effort to address the security concern on the flight ultimately preventing any serious injuries from occurring. 

We commend our flying partners for their deliberate actions to protect the safety of the flight and all of the passengers in their care.  Their example demonstrates our charge to care for everyone on the flight while, at the same time, pointing out the urgency to create a national banned disruptive passenger list.  This is yet another example of where we can all come together to work for a legislative fix to a problem affecting aviation safety.

These types of incidents must be recognized for what they are; that is, an effort to distract the crew from responding to legitimate medical, safety and security emergencies.  Ultimately, their impact puts everyone on the flight at risk and this simply cannot be tolerated.