Why you shouldn't film your cabin crew

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 1 year ago

Why you shouldn't film your cabin crew

By Michael Gebicki
How would you like to be filmed while doing your job? Flight attendants shouldn't have to put up with it.

How would you like to be filmed while doing your job? Flight attendants shouldn't have to put up with it. Credit: iStock

How would you feel if someone walked into your workplace and started filming you going about your business? Then made a judgement on your performance and posted the lot to social media, or a chat room. Probably not happy, yet that's a common experience for flight attendants according to Teri O'Toole, federal secretary of the Flight Attendants' Association of Australia, and she's not happy about it either.

"Would you pull out your phone and start filming a waiter, or a construction worker on a work site? Yet passengers will whip out their phone and start filming flight attendants (FAs) at the drop of a hat, then post it to a chat room together with their name and saying so-and-so was rude and unpleasant on my flight from the Sunshine Coast to Sydney," says O'Toole.

"There's a lot of anger directed at airlines right now for underperformance," according to O'Toole. "More baggage has failed to arrive, the queues during holidays are horrendous, flying is now more stressful than ever and FAs are the most visible airline employees. They're also vulnerable. There's a power imbalance between them and the passenger and they're often the ones that become the punching bag for whatever complaint the passenger might have against the airline."

"That needs to change. When I go into a shop or a medical clinic there are signs everywhere that say 'please do not abuse our staff', and filming someone without their permission in their workplace is abuse. There needs to be an announcement as part of the safety demonstration saying the crew are there to save your lives, you need to respect them, do not abuse them. Yet as far as most airlines are concerned, it seems like the welfare of crew is secondary to the happiness of passengers."

Airline chat forums suggest that crew aboard KLM Airlines flights now commonly make an announcement during the safety briefing asking passengers not to take photos of any crew members. The same injunction appears in the airline's inflight magazine, but it seems KLM is more the exception than the rule.

Sign up for the Traveller newsletter

The latest travel news, tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox. Sign up now.

Most viewed on Traveller

Loading