A short guide on what not to do onboard.
Cabin crew, in general, love their job and will do their best to provide a safe and efficient flight for all. They like their passengers to be happy and do what they can to make things more pleasant. It’s not easy being trapped in a metal tube in the sky with a bunch of strangers, but what passenger behaviors are the worst for cabin crew?
1. Ignoring safety instructions
This is probably the most frustrating of all for most crew. Cabin crew members follow procedures to make sure that the flight is as safe as it can be. When they ask you to do something like put the window blind up or take off your headphones, it’s for a good reason. It’s not that they are being difficult; it is for a specific safety purpose.
Photo: Qatar Airways.
As a simple example, if a flight attendant asks you to put your seat back to the upright position and you immediately recline the seat back down again, you are risking the person’s safety behind you. In the unfortunate event of an evacuation, they might not be able to get out. Please comply and do as the crew asks; they just want everyone to be safe in case there is an emergency.
Photo: Wizz Air
It is always wise to keep the seatbelt on while seated in case there is unexpected turbulence, which can cause fatal injuries if you are not secured. Also, standing up and getting baggage out during taxi after landing won’t get you off the aircraft any earlier, yet you risk injuring yourself or another passenger.
Just give them a few moments to get to you. If someone is repeatedly pressing a call bell (and yes, they do take note) for no valid reason, they can disable it. Sometimes, children think it’s a fun thing to do. But when crew members hear a repeated call bell, they will likely assume it’s a medical emergency or something unusual like smoke and act accordingly.
Photo: Lufthansa
Also, considering hygiene, it is advisable to keep your shoes on when visiting the lavatory. The water on the floor is usually not water, and do you really want that on your socks or bare feet? Try to be considerate of other passengers around you; they don’t want to deal with a dirty environment either. Also, please use the baby changing facilities in the lavatory, not the tray table or crew seat.
Photo: British Airways
If it’s too heavy for you to lift, they shouldn’t be lifting it either. Many a cabin crew has injured themselves by helping passengers stow their bags heavy carry-on luggage. They will assist you in maneuvering the baggage in a suitable space. If the item is just too heavy to lift, then it might be offloaded and stored in the hold.
Bottom line: be nice
Cabin crew are safety professionals and not just servers, as some passengers think, and they deserve respect. It is inappropriate for a passenger to touch a crew member or pull at their uniform to get their attention. Please don’t get mad at them because of delays; they are stuck there, too, and aren’t paid any extra.
They, too, have places to go and people to see; it’s of no benefit to the flight attendants to be delayed, and they can’t do anything about it either. Be nice! If crew members have time, they love a chat and always will have an exciting story to tell you. Also, they love a thank you at the end of the flight; it makes the hard work all worth it.
Source:Simple Flying
