Flight attendant of six years ‘exposes dark secrets of job’ people don’t see
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
Travelling the world for a living is something many of us often dream about.
A former flight attendant, however, has lifted the lid on the dark reality of working in the aviation industry, from awful passengers, sexual harassment to a serious lack of airline safety.
The anonymous ex crew member, who flew for both budget and premium airlines in Asia for six years, revealed to Vice that the primary KPI was appearance.
Advert
She said in a video interview that staff faced a lot of pressure to stay a certain size, leading some to use dangerous drugs like heroin and ketamine to maintain weight.
As well as witnessing flight attendants resorting to drug use, she recalled the time one of her colleagues died on the surgery table from getting liposuction.
Beyond looking a certain way, the worker accused the industry of turning a blind eye to sexual harassment.
“The captain tried to get me to sleep with him,” she claimed, alleging that after refusing his advances, senior crew members would make work unbearable.
One of the most disturbing aspects of the job was dealing with intoxicated and sexually inappropriate passengers. Recalling one shocking flight, the attendant said 'a passenger started masturbating while watching porn', before 'taking his clothes off and ended up urinating himself'.
The crew eventually had to restrain him after attempts to calm him failed.
“I’ve caught a couple on the last row having sex,” she said, adding the pair 'weren’t stopping at all' and 'weren’t even embarrassed' after being confronted.
She also claimed some senior crew members used questionable tactics to manage drunk passengers: “Your seniors would tell you just squeeze a few eye drops into passengers’ drink when they become too intoxicated and they refuse to stop drinking.”
The woman also recalled a terrifying security scare involving a wanted gang member.
“This man tried to smuggle two guns, both of the guns were fully loaded,” she said, warning the weapons could actually gone off in the cargo because of the pressure'.
Violence against airline staff was regular occurance after a passenger angry about seating arrangements 'threw hot instant noodles to one of the crew members face', leaving the employee burned, while her boyfriend 'started threatening to blow up the plane'.
After several years in the profession, she said: “I was clinically diagnosed with depression and it’s something that I still struggle [with] up until now.”
The woman added that 'there’s a lot of suicide in the industry', with constant exposure to 'sexual and physical abuse almost every day' changing workers 'as a person'.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
Topics: Flight attendants, Jobs, Travel
Anish Vij