How have safety protocols changed for flight attendants since COVID-19 emerged?

There have been countless changes through the various layers of government, but the biggest mitigation was mandating that everyone on airport properties and on airplanes need to wear face masks over their noses and mouths.

There are other protocols like social distancing, limiting service and contact with passengers, enhanced cleaning practices and supplies, and handing out alcohol wipes for people to use. With the access to vaccines, more travelers feel confident in air travel. Meanwhile, some of the government protocols are relaxed, on top of individuals easing up on vigilance — and this is a concern.

How do you handle unruly passengers?

There have always been federal penalties for unruly passengers who disrupt flights (a.k.a. “crew interference”). During this pandemic, we have seen a meteoric spike in passenger altercations on airplanes.

So whether pre-pandemic or now, disruptive travelers could face fines. Under the current mandate, disruptive passengers could lose travel privileges after an airline review for that specific carrier. In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration could propose fines of up to $37,000.

Our training encourages de-escalation techniques to defuse a possible situation. However, when there is limited time, we have to make quick assessments and immediately take control of a safety situation or hazard including certain unruly passengers. We are also equipped with restraint devices, if needed, to help subdue a passenger only if deemed necessary to protect other passengers, crew, the cockpit and flight as a whole.

Documentation of in-flight incidents is available because passengers shoot video snippets and post them on social media. It is important to consider that most clips show a fragment of what occurred and can be misleading to the viewer.

In general, do you or other flight attendants feel safe during a flight? Explain.

I think that our flight attendants generally feel safe on Hawaiian Airlines flights because they trust our mechanics, pilots and other departments who maintain and monitor our fleet. However, in terms of the pandemic, I believe that our flight attendants are concerned about potentially contracting COVID-19 and then bringing it home to loved ones. Because of our culture, we have more multigenerational homes than most states. And we help each other out and are enmeshed with our families.

There are new variants that are more resistant and even more transmissible. Exhaustion from having to explain and monitor face masks on flights, and the steady flow of on-board incidents and altercations during the pandemic, have left many of our flight attendants beleaguered.

How has COVID-19 changed the travel experience to Hawaii for passengers and crew?

Travel is different because of this pandemic. Some people were in lockdown, others were working from home, people got laid off from their jobs, and some people had no choice but to balance work and child care because kids were learning from home. These are just a few examples of how our daily lives dramatically changed. This not only affects our travelers, but it also affects all airline employees. The long-term stress has affected our mental health and well-being.

Here in Hawaii, we have an added layer of tension because we are physically separated from the rest of the world. The state has testing and quarantine requirements for any travelers and airline employees. This can be overwhelming, expensive and exhausting. Add this to travelers who had to cancel and rebook their plans, stand in even longer lines at security, increased cost due to lodging and ground transportation supply, and pent up frustrations — people are bound to buckle.

The travel experience has changed not just for tourists, but our kamaaina and airline employees because of the safety protocols implemented at the main gateway of travel into Hawaii — our airports.

What are the top concerns for the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA)?

As a result of the federal face-mask order, we now have to monitor and even discuss proper face-mask usage on our flights on a regular basis. This adds to our normal duties. And while most people see us in the aisles serving food and beverages, what they don’t appreciate is that we are also monitoring the cabin for non-normal incidents, possible sights and sounds on the aircraft that could indicate a mechanical concern and observing the passenger group and taking note of situations that could arise. Although we are known as flight attendants, we actually are safety professionals.

While the popularity of air travel has returned, stress and anxiety create an angst-filled environment. When you couple that with alcohol sales on board the aircraft, disagreements and altercations can erupt. We have been fortunate in not experiencing the same outbursts and disruptions as our mainline peers, but it is only a matter of time.

Our union has been campaigning to extend of the federal mask order past Sept. 13, 2021 (the Biden administration said it will extend the order through Jan. 18, 2022); to withhold alcohol sales through the face-mask order; to combat human trafficking on airplanes; to increase equality and voting rights; and to close the gap for regional carriers’ pay (equal work for equal pay).

THE BIO FILE

>> Current title: Local executive council president, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (Honolulu-based); flight attendant

>> Other professional experience: Restaurants, commercial property management

>> Personal background: Born and raised in Honolulu; University of Hawaii-Manoa business school graduate (real estate)

>> Outside interests: Spending time with family and friends, board games, traveling, cooking, baking

>> One more thing: One of my favorite pastimes is making lei. I love picking flowers and stringing them together or making haku …something that is easy to do here in Hawaii.