Hautetalk: Why Do People Treat Flight Attendants Awfully?
This needs to stop!
In the last few days, a video has been circulating on social media which shows an argument that occurred between one of the crew members of IndiGo airline and a rude passenger. According to the argument, the passenger was treating the crew member in an extremely rude and derogatory manner. This is what probably caused the air hostess to yell at the passenger while he is heard telling her to “Shut up” and even calling her “servant.” This unfortunate exchange has left the internet in shock. In fact, it also draws attention to the unfair and awful ways in which passengers treat flight attendants as if they weren’t service professionals but their slaves.
Tempers soaring even mid-air: "I am not your servant"
An @IndiGo6E crew and a passenger on an Istanbul flight to Delhi (a route which is being expanded soon with bigger planes in alliance with @TurkishAirlines ) on 16th December : pic.twitter.com/ZgaYcJ7vGv
— Tarun Shukla (@shukla_tarun) December 21, 2022
The video started with the air hostess informing the awful passenger that he isn’t supposed to point a finger at the crew, yell at them and treat them like lowly servants. She also mentions that one of the flight crew is crying because of his awful and unfortunate behaviour. After this confrontation, the passenger called her and all her crew servants.
This sad incident took place on the airline’s Istanbul-Delhi flight and it reportedly just occurred over some food. This goes to show the kind of awful passengers that flight attendants have to deal with daily. This video also gathered a lot of support and encouragement for the flight attendant who fought back and dared to speak up for her crew. After all, they deserve to be treated with the utmost respect for doing such a taxing job, don’t they?
Such awful behaviour towards and treatment of the in-flight crew is becoming increasingly common day by day. People are now, taking the in-flight crew for granted and acting like they deserve to strip these attendants of their rights just because they are paying for their services. It’s as if the passengers are leaving their basic manners and etiquette behind while boarding flights. Isn’t it?
Why is it so hard for people to understand that aeroplanes aren’t hotels or restaurants? They do not have an unlimited supply of resources and a diverse choice of food and drinks. Or that much space. There’s limited service staff too. This means that some minor inconveniences can occur mid-flight and passengers need to be accommodating and patient instead of treating the staff inhumanely and awfully.
If we find taking the occasional flight tiring, exhaustive and exceedingly wearying, imagine the exhaustion of the in-flight crew. They are doing it for a living. They spend painfully long hours on their feet and that too in an airborne and pressurised container. On top of this, there are these mannerless and awful customers who take out their anxiety, stress and troubles on these hard-working individuals by simply being rude, unkind and unpleasant.
Furthermore, flight attendants are overly sexualised on the job. They are treated like attractive objects. This is perhaps why sexual harassment is on the rise in terms of both female as well as male flight attendants. According to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, this is one of the most significant downsides of the job and they are also, extremely underreported. Do you know what’s worse? They have nobody to support them except each other. They can’t even stand up for themselves because they are always supposed to keep a smile on their faces and a sense of politeness in their voice else, they might just end up losing their jobs or risking their entire careers, in the long run.
We cannot imagine what it must have taken for the flight attendant in the abovementioned video to have lost her cool and broken all of her training protocols to speak like this to a passenger. Flight attendants are trained impeccably to maintain their cool in stressful situations and deal with such difficult passengers. Clearly, something pushed her to the edge. Definitely, being treated as a ‘servant’ can do that to people.
In India, there’s a severe lack of dignity in labour. People do not respect those in service jobs. From servers in restaurants to sweepers on the streets to even flight attendants, the attitude is that just because we are paying for the service, we ‘own’ them. But that’s not the case. They are people who are simply doing their jobs and are drawing a salary for it. To mistreat them, to forget basic human decency or kindness, and treat them rudely is a reflection of the rot in our society.
Also Read: Airline Crew Schools Passenger About Manners, Twitter Is In Support
It’s about time we make some changes and make the world a better place for these hard-working individuals. After all, they respect us and make sure we have the best. So, in return, they deserve the best too.
