Makkah

SOCIEY has many misconceptions about the profession of flight attendants.

This profession is not limited to serving food and drinks to airline passengers. However, this is what most people in our society think of this job.

Advertisements by airline companies may have been the cause of such misconceptions. The mass media also played a role by not trying to clarify the important role of flight attendants.

The profession of flight attendants has a history exceeding 100 years. In addition to serving food and drinks, flight attendants have specific duties and responsibilities, which are quite important.

Yes, serving food and drinks is part of the job, but it only constitutes 10 percent of the tasks performed by flight attendants.

Here I will try to give a clear idea of the duties and responsibilities of flight attendants by listing some of their tasks. There are three stages. The first stage is before flight passengers arrive on board. Flight attendants make sure that all safety equipment are in place, are operating properly and ready for use. These include equipment such as fire extinguishers, first aid kits, oxygen tanks and so on.

They also make sure there are no suspicious objects such as unidentified bags, explosives and other hazards on the aircraft. The flight attendants also make sure that the cabin has sufficient quantities of flight requirements such as safety brochures, magazines, pillows, blankets and meals.

One of the main tasks of flight attendants is to make sure that all seats are operating properly and the entertainment screens are working.

The second stage starts when boarding begins. They direct passengers to their designated seats and help them to put their bags in the upper compartments. They also have the important task of taking elderly and handicapped passengers to their seats after receiving the designated door of the aircraft.

After all the passengers are seated, they explain safety instructions and point out emergency exits. They also give special instructions to passengers seated near emergency exits about the precautions they need to take in case of an untoward event. Flight attendants make sure seat belts are fastened, lavatories are empty of passengers, windows are open and seats are in the upright position during takeoff and landing.

After the seat belt sign is switched off, flight attendants begin serving food and drinks to passengers. They are also in charge of preventing passengers from smoking or from any other undesirable behavior that could lead to conflict between passengers.

The third stage is when passengers leave the airplane after landing. They greet them on their way out and make sure that the airplane is empty of any personal belongings or suspicious objects. Their final task during a flight is to write a report on the trip whenever necessary.

The job of flight attendants is challenging one because they are supposed to deal with all kinds of people with vast differences in age and temperament. The flight attendants must deal with all of them kindly and with a big smile on their faces.

I do not think that this article is enough to explain all the duties and tasks performed by flight attendants. There are instances when they play the role of a doctor and deal with emergency cases, including the delivery of babies. The main task of flight attendants is to ensure the safety of passengers during the flight. If anyone wants to understand more about their role, I suggest they watch the movie “Sully”.