Airline Security; Hostesses The last line of defense!

Introduction:

It may surprise many people, including flight attendants, but the fact is that in today’s airline industry, the flight attendant is the last line of defense!

In the terrorist attacks of September 11, in the WTC and the Pentagon, the first victims were the flight attendants. Savagely attacked by the terrorist on his way to the cockpit and tortured to pressure the pilots to comply with the terrorists’ demands.

More mundane, but the daily occurrences in the international airline industry, are unruly passengers. Whoever endangers the safety of co-passengers and the aircraft due to mental disorders, alcohol consumption, stress or non-compliance with airline rules, such as remaining seated during takeoff and landing, etc. or smoking in prohibited areas on smoke-free flights. Flight attendants are expected to handle these jobs, as lifeguards and, if necessary, can call on pilots for help, if the situation is out of their control. However, the flight attendants have to intervene first and are often subjected to verbal and physical abuse by unruly passengers.

After the 9/11 attack pilots; she must show caution before leaving the cabin, to help calm or restrain unruly passengers. The incident could well be a diversion for the pilots to open the now locked cockpits, whereupon rogue passenger plotters will attack to gain access to the cockpit.

Safety on board:

On most flights, there are no Air Marshals, so flight attendants have to deal with the issues. Those who have either taken care of the matter on their own, either wait for the assistance of the pilot or co-pilot, or occasionally request the assistance of other passengers. As these problems have been around for decades and will be around in the future, it is simply necessary for Flight Attendants to be trained in Self Defense and Arrest techniques. These skills should simply be part of the standard flight attendant training program, with regular retraining.

Flight attendants have not always been pretty, multilingual, service-minded women; When the Icelandic airline was originally established, all flight attendants trained as nurses, as it was thought necessary, to deal with any medical emergencies. My opinion is that a similar concern is valid today and that flight attendants should also be able to deal with today’s security threats. It would also be wise to continue the current trend of adding more Commissioners to crews and preferable to the half crew level.

To give flight attendants an added advantage, a non-lethal weapon such as a mini stun gun or extendable baton could be issued and used, along with handcuffs etc. Closed circuit television should be installed, with cameras placed in strategic positions, it could be complemented with RF frequency pen-type cameras that are worn on the uniforms of the flight attendants. Monitors must be placed in all crew areas; this would provide greater security, not only for flight attendants but also for pilots, who could respond sooner to a potential threat to the safety of rogue or terrorist passengers.

Now, some will argue that training flight attendants to deal with terrorist incidents is wrong and that the focus should be on passenger and baggage security screening. I will say yes to them, I fully agree, to the need for a prior inspection of passengers and baggage and an increase in airport security procedures is necessary. However, current efforts are largely focused on recruiting more security personnel and converting them into federal employees, which has actually done little to increase security. This is a fact that is evident from the many cases of people carrying weapons on board aircraft anyway.

This fact has been repeatedly proven by security inspections, where security agents have boarded aircraft with weapons and explosives etc. There is also the fact that airlines often have little control over actual airport security and almost no control at foreign airports. At many foreign airports, airlines simply have to rely on local security and occasional inspections by official institutions like the FAA, etc.

There is also the real threat from terrorist cooperators working within the Airline service industry, who have access to the Aircraft and could place weapons or bombs on board the Aircraft, for use by terrorists. And finally, the violent and unruly passenger will always be part of the environment that flight attendants face. Perhaps these incidents can be reduced by imposing higher penalties and prison terms for those who violate the rules of the Airlines in any way. But these procedures are going to take time and meanwhile the problem continues, in the hands of the Hostesses; Our last line of defense!