In times of turmoil up in the air, we look to flight attendants for reassurance. But what happens when it’s their industry that’s in turmoil?
Flight attendant Sarah Steeger told Fodor’s what it’s like flying the not-so-friendly skies amid the throes of a global pandemic.
Crew members describe flying during coronavirus’ spread as “surreal,” “crazy” and “bananas,” she reports. Yes, they have to deal with pranksters — like the passenger who delayed an American Airlines plane for eight hours by joking about having the disease. And while there’s not much obvious panic, Steeger explains, “airports are empty at odd times of the day and everyone is nervous.”
Anyone want to know what it’s like to be a flight attendant during this corona virus pandemic? Remeber how on the titanic the band continued to play? Yeah that’s all of us.. 😅
— Barrel Aged Shep (@brad_sheppy) March 13, 2020
Passengers often do wear masks, but not necessarily correctly. One pilot tells Steeger that many people “only have [the mask] covering their mouth and not their nose. Doesn’t really work well that way.”
In-flight incident.
One uncle beside me looks at me and points to call button for flight attendant.
Me: *presses it*
Me: Uncle, why u didn't press it yourself? Any difficulty?Uncle (matter of factly): Can't touch as it may have #coronavirus
🤦♂️#COVIDー19#CoronaVirusUpdates— Somesh Upadhyay, IAS (@Somesh_IAS) March 14, 2020
A US flight attendant named Domenica (crew members do not reveal their last names due to airline policies on talking to media) tells Steeger that passengers are being nicer to them. But, she adds, in their haste to disinfect their seats, armrests and tray tables once onboard, they miss one major area.
“I think people forget about the overhead bins,” Domenica says, “and those I feel are one of the grossest things on the plane.”
And with confirmed cases and fatalities increasing every day, crew members realize they’re the highest-risk non-medical profession with respect to the disease. They’ve given up socializing with each other and go straight to their hotel rooms on layovers.
American Airlines employee Brian says his company and union would handle diagnoses on a case-by-case basis but that he doesn’t feel at risk: “I feel very safe flying right now.” Brian also tells Steeger that the airline “has done more than I thought they would in stating new procedures to clean planes [and] allow flight attendants to wear gloves and masks when applicable.”
Flight attendants are also at the whim of global travel restrictions, but Steeger reports that stories of stranded crew members are relatively rare. In general, crew members rarely refuse to fly to a particular destination, even if there have been a cluster of cases there — but that might indicate more that they are worried about their jobs amid the flight cancellations and route cutbacks occurring across the industry.
2. EVERY time I take off I pray I’m not going to wind up quarantined alone hundreds of miles away from home with one change of clothes. Because…. yeah…. that could happen too. all for that paycheck though right?
— ‧͙⁺˚*･༓ abrienne ༓･*˚⁺‧͙ (@siighchedelic) March 14, 2020
Some employees feel the airlines have not been doing enough to address their fears. “It would be nice to know what kind of plans they have for us if this gets out of hand,” Domenica says. Other flight attendants have taken to Facebook groups to voice their concerns, where some report the under-provisioning of gloves, ineffective hand wipes and antibacterial gel supplied just to certain destinations including Milan, Seoul and Hong Kong.
its really fun being a flight attendant :) getting sent to cities with multiple cases of covid-19 :) and flights getting cancelled so u cant get home :) and not knowing how youre gonna pay your rent or feed ur kid bc grocery stores are empty and my paycheck is in question :))))
— juju♡ (@okxjuju) March 15, 2020
I’m a flight attendant and I believe that all U.S flights should be halted for the next two weeks to stop the spread of the virus. #coronavirus
— Raychel Armstrong (@twuraychel) March 16, 2020
Crew members are also using social media to express solidarity during turbulent times.
