On the part of the passenger, we have an unknown number of variables. With regards to crew, we have a small team of personnel with limited training in physical self-defence or restraint techniques, limited equipment, usually no innate disposition towards conflict, and whose focus must be divided between the unruly individual(s) and the other passengers in their care. There are numerous aspects of an unruly passenger situation that make this category of security threat particularly unpredictable. “…there is an identifiable link between subjects being restrained in a face-down position for extended periods and restraint-related death…” Whatever the impetus for the behaviour – be it alcohol, drugs, a mental health condition, frustration or even an attempted hijacking – cabin crew are nearly always the only line of defence when it comes to preserving passenger and staff safety when violence occurs. There can be few situations more challenging, and potentially dangerous, for an unarmed individual than restraining an aggressive adult 30,000 feet in the air with no possibility of immediately landing or access to police intervention. So how do we prepare our staff to deal with aggressive, hostile passengers while isolated in an aircraft cabin without security personnel or police to assist them? Joe Saunders identifies the risks involved in physically restraining passengers at 30,000 feet, and discusses how best to mitigate them in order to ensure the safety of all involved. However, we rarely recruit cabin crew based on their conflict resolution or physical combat skills. We will be sharing survey findings with FAA, DOT, TSA, and FBI to help more fully identify the problems and our union’s proposed actions to affect positive change.Airlines usually pride themselves on providing great customer service in a safe and secure environment – and we hire those most suited to perform this task. “We know the government, airlines, airports, and all stakeholders can take actions together to keep us safe and flying friendly. “This is not a ‘new normal’ we are willing to accept,” Nelson continued. 71 percent of Flight Attendants who filed incident reports with airline management received no follow-up and a majority did not observe efforts to address the rise in unruly passengers by their employers. Survey data confirmed that existing measures were failing to address the problem. “It is time to make the FAA ‘zero tolerance’ policy permanent, the Department of Justice to utilize existing statute to conduct criminal prosecution, and implement a series of actions proposed by our union to keep problems on the ground and respond effectively in the event of incidents.”ĪFA is calling on the FAA and DOJ to protect passengers and crew from disruptive, and verbally and physically abusive travelers. There is a lot more going on here and the solutions require a series of actions in coordination across aviation,” said Sara Nelson, President of AFA-CWA. This is not just about masks as some have attempted to claim. “This survey confirms what we all know, the vitriol, verbal and physical abuse from a small group of passengers is completely out of control, and is putting other passengers and flight crew at risk. Sixty-one percent of those who experienced unruly passenger behavior reported passengers using sexist, racist and homophobic language. Whether they escalate to physical confrontation or not, these incidents can be traumatizing. And a shocking 17% reported a physical confrontation with a passenger. 58% percent reported handling at least five incidents. While the results are no surprise, they are sobering.Ĩ5% percent of respondents reported having dealt with at least one unruly passenger so far in 2021. We’re going to fix this together.” AFA-CWA International President Sara Nelson.Īlmost 5,000 Flight Attendants representing 30 airlines completed AFA’s Unruly Passengers Survey. The first step to fixing a problem is defining it. J- “Thank you to all who took part in the unruly passenger survey.
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