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Sunday February 5, 2012

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Less attendants a safety concern?

Posted by: Derryn Hinch | 6 April, 2010 - 5:19 PM
Photo opportunities like these will be a thing of the past

With the Easter holidays a lot of people have been flying around Australia in the past few days and that gives added impetus – if needed – to some disturbing news about airline safety that has come to my attention.

You would think that after 9-11, and the shoe bomber and the underpants bomber, that airlines and the aviation authorities would be doing more and more to make life safer in the air.

People have accepted that you can’t take nail clippers and bottles of perfume on board in your hand luggage any more. We have our hand luggage x-rayed and soon will be having full body scans.

Fair enough. These are tough and dangerous times. But has anybody told the civil aviation authority, CASA?

It is trying to ram through legislation that will permit commercial airlines to have fewer flight attendants on domestic flights. Right now the ratio is one flight attendant for every 36 passengers. They want one attendant for 50 passengers on planes carrying up to 216 people.

The flight crews are angry. And understandably so. It’s not just passenger safety they are concerned about … it’s their own.

They are not trolley dollies or glorified waiters in the sky. They are there to save lives in am emergency. It’s all very well for flight simulators and mock drills to show planes can be emptied safely and quickly.  But try it with panicked passengers. A mother with a baby. Or a fat person blocking an exit row. Different story.

The flight attendants rightly claim that  having one less crew member on board means one less trained professional that the cabin crew relies on and the passengers depend on.  They are the last line of defence in an increasingly dangerous job.

I thought it would be the airlines pushing for these changes but apparently not—although some airlines have been given exemptions from the 1-to-36 ratio.

This standard has been in operation for 50 years. It was reviewed by the Federal Parliament as recently as 2003 any changes were rejected. So, if it aint broke why fix it?

To make things worse: today is the deadline for public submissions. You can still lodge a protest at http://www.casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WCMS:STANDARD::pc=PC_100043 or send an email to: nprm09050S@casa.gov.au or send a fax to: Standards Documentation Coordinator 1 800 653 897.  

But hurry. You pay enough for your airline seat. You should expect it to be the safest seat the airlines and the airline watchdog can provide. And that’s not asking for much.

Blog comments Your Say

  • Safety verses costs is it a comprise or rather a serious legal eventuality.As a technical person it is cabin crew I quote in the Qantas Welcome Video"remember the cabin crew are here to look after you so follow their instructions".Please I ask of you are we willing to take the risk.........

    Roy Netto Thursday 8 April, 2010 - 9:11 AM

  • My wife is a flight attendant of just over 10 years with our major carrier. To say she and others are concerned and angry is an understatement.

    This change applies to all single aisle domestic aircraft - the type that is used in the majority of short haul flights in this country.

    Of the greatest concern is that on some aircraft this proposal would mean only 3 flight attendants on a 4 door craft. So, who cares right? Well, in an emergency the flying public should. Who is going to arm the unmanned door to release the slide? Who will assist in orderly evacuation on that door if needed?

    Further, to those who complain about service now on domestic carriers - wait and see what happens now on short hop flights (ie those less than one hour). Up to 1/3 of passengers will miss out on service. CASA has attempted to sneak this in under the radar. Shame, shame, shame. Serrious noise needs to be made on CASA breaching the "S" in its acronym.

    Justin Wednesday 7 April, 2010 - 6:53 AM

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