Flight Attendants
Flight attendants monitor the safety of the aircraft cabin and provide services to airline passengers, explain safety information, serve food and beverages, and respond to emergency incidents.
All airlines have flight attendants to ensure passengers’ safety.
Flight attendants' job is to follow the pilot or co-pilot's instructions. They look after the safety and comfort of passengers on a flight, explain emergency protocols, provide information about the journey, ensure a clean cabin, assist during take-off and landing, and serve meals and beverages on the flight.
Flight attendants attend the pilot’s pre-flight briefings, inspect emergency equipment, respond to disruptive passengers, monitor suspicious behaviour, and attend to safety or medical issues during flight. They are required to report any incident that occurs on a flight.
Flight attendants need a high school diploma, or an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, though some students prefer to enrol in flight attendant school. They need to take foreign language classes. The flight attendant's salary is contingent on the skills and experience.
How to become a flight attendant? One undergoes training in safety and emergency procedures, first aid, flight regulations and job duties. They also take practice flights.
Flight attendants must have strong customer service skills. Other important skills include attention to detail, communication, stamina, efficiency and leadership.
A flight attendant career entails working unconventional hours. The job can be stressful when dealing with difficult or anxious passengers, responding to emergencies, air turbulence, and being on their feet for long periods. Many flight attendants choose to live near the airport to be able to commute to work quickly.
Qualifications
Every career requires an element of study and academic qualification, and there can be several study routes and pathways you can take. In following any academic pathway you will study subjects that contribute to the specialised knowledge required to achieve your career goals. These qualifications provide a future employer with the evidence that you have the desired knowledge, understanding and experience of their industry, so it’s important to consider the various types of qualifications available to you and to understand how they can boost your career and create opportunities for you.
- BBA Travel and Tourism
- Diploma Hotel Management
- Training Course Cabin Crew
Tasks
- Direct and assist passengers in emergency procedures, such as evacuating a plane following an emergency landing.
- Announce and demonstrate safety and emergency procedures, such as the use of oxygen masks, seat belts, and life jackets.
- Walk aisles of planes to verify that passengers have complied with federal regulations prior to takeoffs and landings.
- Verify that first aid kits and other emergency equipment, including fire extinguishers and oxygen bottles, are in working order.
- Administer first aid to passengers in distress.
- Attend preflight briefings concerning weather, altitudes, routes, emergency procedures, crew coordination, lengths of flights, food and beverage services offered, and numbers of passengers.
- Prepare passengers and aircraft for landing, following procedures.
- Determine special assistance needs of passengers, such as small children, the elderly, or disabled persons.
- Check to ensure that food, beverages, blankets, reading material, emergency equipment, and other supplies are aboard and are in adequate supply.
- Reassure passengers when situations, such as turbulence, are encountered.
Progression Routes
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