The really rude passenger behaviour that puts flight attendants in danger
RECENTLY, a passenger on a flight in America felt the need to share pictures they had taken of a cabin crew member on social media, while also complaining about the service they had received.
In the photo, the flight attendant was sitting down and having a look on her phone, oblivious to the world around her. The passenger's caption complained about having to get up and ask her for ice.
In this week's blog post for Sun Online Travel, I'll explain why taking pictures of the cabin crew is not only wrong, it's also really dangerous.
Firstly, in the instance I spoke about, some people may think it looks bad for the flight attendant.
The attendant's sitting on her phone, apparently not paying attention to the needs of her passenger, who claimed they were in first class.
However, it's just a snapshot - a brief moment in time - and it's really unfair to share that online, especially without her consent.
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Flight attendants are legally required to take breaks on some flights and she might well have being doing just that.
If so, she's perfectly within her rights to be sitting on her phone, playing games, studying for exams or doing whatever it is she needs to be doing. It's no one else's concern.
But even if that wasn't the case, as passengers, I think it's really a bit pathetic to be sharing pictures like that online.
Above your head you have a call button - press it and someone will help you.
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How many more buttons did this person have to press to take the picture, write their little caption and share it online? Much more than just one.
There are also much better ways of raising complaints, regardless of how irritating the service might have been.
Every airline will have an official complaints channel to raise these issues and any appropriate action will then be taken.
It's sadly not unusual for this type of thing to take place and it's an extra thing that we simply shouldn't have to think about while we're at work.
Yet we have to stand on ceremony for passengers, even when we're having a break, in case people like this want to publicly accuse us of being slackers.
Even after we've done all the relevant safety checks, cleaning and everything else we need to do to make sure the cabin is not only comfortable, but most of all safe.
Safety is our primary concern and, even when we're having a break, we're alert and should an emergency happen, we're ready to spring to action again, in the unlikely event that we're needed.
However, this passenger clearly wasn't concerned with the flight attendant's safety because sharing pictures of us online can put us at risk.
People will see those pictures and can then find our social media channels, which they can use to track us or stalk us or whatever.
A lot of flight attendants don't use social media for that very reason and others, myself included, have even been warned to hide our name badges once the cabin is secured, to stop people finding out who we are.
I know colleagues who've been offered money for their underwear, pictures of their feet and all sorts on social media. It's gross.
But it gets way creepier, with passengers searching for their flight attendants online after their flights and trying to find them in the city they're in.
Taking pictures of us puts us in really dodgy positions sometimes, when really all we want is to blend in and do our jobs quietly.
So next time you're on a flight and, for whatever reason, the service isn't as good as you think it should be - use the call button, tell someone and leave it at that.
It's neither fair nor is it safe to be sharing pictures that could contain personal details online, especially without our consent.
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Meanwhile, this dangerous new trend among flight attendants is putting people at risk.
And this is why new flight attendants aren't as good as other ones.
