Flight attendants talk about the chaos of summer travel around the world

(CNN) — British flight attendant Chris Major has worked in aviation for over two decades. He has seen the industry suffer and recover from 9/11, SARS and foot and mouth disease.

Now, what Major predicts is the worst aviation crisis yet on the front lines: the travel chaos of the summer of 2022. The major, who chairs the European Transport Workers Federation’s joint aircrew committee, said flight crews are fighting on behalf of European flight attendants and pilots.

As global travelers return to the skies in droves after a pandemic-induced hiatus, airlines and airports around the world are struggling to match supply with demand.

The result is flights being canceled left right and centre, luggage being damaged and travelers losing faith in the aviation industry as a whole. In Major’s view, it is “absolutely shambolic.”

His words were echoed by flight attendants around the world.

“Crew shortages, delays, cancellations, no luggage — I think it’s a very difficult situation for everyone,” Daniel Casa Mbuambi, a German-based Lufthansa flight attendant, told CNN Travel.

American flight attendant Ali Mallis said: “There’s some sort of malfunction that I believe should be prevented.

Front line in the sky

In the first days of the pandemic, when aviation was grounded, most airlines and airports furloughed or laid off many of their ground and air staff. Many service providers have employed a skeleton staff for the better part of the past two years.

Now, demand for travel is back, and the industry is struggling to keep up and hire. “It’s a very difficult situation” for flight attendants still on the books, said Lufthansa’s Casa Mbuambi, chairman of the German flight attendant union UFO.

Crews this tension means to fly with at least crew on occasional flights, as described by Kasa Mbuambi, or air crews sleeping at airports, as Ali Malis.

Mallis, a government affairs representative for the Professional Flight Attendants Association, which represents American Airlines, also described the “convenience” conditions in which flight attendants are delayed by incoming flights and run through the airport to do their next job.

“Sometimes passengers are excited that you’re coming because it means their plane is leaving, or they’re even upset—they think it’s your fault that the flight is delayed when you can’t make two flights at once. Although I’m sure the airlines wish we could,” she says.

Flight attendants say such conditions, along with unpredictable schedules, affect the mental and physical well-being of crew.

“Illness rates are through the roof, fatigue levels are through the roof, because no [flight attendants are] They are not accepting or protesting in any way. “It’s just that they can’t — they can’t deal with constant change,” said a British flight attendant major.

Flight cancellations have become commonplace in the US this summer. Shown here: Travelers walk past American Airlines planes at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in July.

Nathan Howard / Getty Images

It’s frustrating when airlines attribute current issues to staff absenteeism, says Mallis.

She added: “It is absolutely disgusting that we are blamed for any shortage of staff or operational deficiencies because the airline has failed to plan adequately.”

“Flight attendants are working more days than we’ve ever had, with shorter breaks than we’ve had and that makes you sick, which leads to tiredness and fatigue and weakens your immune system.”

American Airlines recently scrapped an absenteeism policy that exposed employees to disciplinary action if they took Covid-related leave, Mallis said. A spokeswoman for the airline would not comment on the change to CNN, but said, “Taking care of our employees, even when they’re away from home, is a priority.”

An American Airlines representative said the airline was not aware of recent reports of crew members sleeping in airports.

“If we believe that there may be a problem with the accommodation of workers, everything is in their hands to prevent this from happening,” said the representative.

A Lufthansa spokeswoman said the aviation industry as a whole was “perceived by disruptions and staff shortages, particularly during peak periods”.

A Lufthansa spokeswoman added that the post-pandemic growth in travel was “expected – but not to this extent”. Lufthansa recently canceled summer flights, a spokeswoman said, with the aim of reducing day-to-day cancellations.

Covid-19 and fatigue-related leave have reached 30% among Lufthansa’s ground staff, while the German airline’s crew and pilot time is “very low in the single digits”. A Lufthansa spokeswoman said that as a result, operating flights with minimal crew capacity was not necessary “under normal fleet conditions”.

Industry situation

Flight attendants say the unpredictable schedules caused by cancellations and delays are tough. Shown here: Flight information boards showing canceled flights at Germany’s Frankfurt Airport in July.

Ben Kilb/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Flight attendant contracts allow for flexible work days, so flying is always a job that comes with an unpredictable level. But as the industry expands, flight attendants say that uncertainty is increasing.

Major points to unpredictable schedules, coupled with current wage conditions, as reasons why workers who left the industry during the pandemic are not coming back.

“There’s a reason they don’t come back,” he says. “The industry has created its own problems.”

Mallis echoed this: “Why would anyone want to apply to be a flight attendant or any other airline employee when we’re working on the bare bones?”

Major thinks the issue can only be resolved when the industry admits there is a problem – and that it has to do with the way things are now, not specific to flying post-Covid.

Through his work for the Pan-European Aviation Union, Major advocates for higher wages for aircrews to bring down the cost of living and improve work-life balance.

Casa Mbuambi agrees. “We have to offer better conditions,” he said, adding that his German-based union is discussing solutions with other cabin crew unions in Europe.

He thinks the higher wages and structured working conditions better reflect the role of flight attendants.

“We are not only here to serve you a few drinks, but also to guarantee safety,” said Casa Mbuambi.

Passenger communication

American flight attendant Malice said passenger disruptions in the US have become less of an issue since the mask mandate was lifted.

But while the mask-related issues may have stopped in the US, they are raging elsewhere. Casa Mbuambi and Major point out that countries with different laws create ongoing frustrations among European travelers. These frustrations can be compounded when travelers experience travel disruptions.

“Many passengers are traveling without their bags these days,” says Lufthansa Casa Mbuambi. “So of course you have a lot of angry passengers.”

Casa Mbuambi’s plea to the traveling public is that aviation workers are “doing what we can”.

“All the staff – it doesn’t matter if they are ground staff or cabin staff – they do everything they can. But if you don’t have enough staff, then you can’t solve every problem.”

Many travelers are concerned about losing luggage when traveling this winter. Pictured here: Unclaimed luggage at London Heathrow Airport.

Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images

Major echoes this sentiment, and reminds passengers that flight attendants also experience travel frustrations from the other side. He’s headed on a family vacation soon and sees an inevitable interruption in frustration.

Mallis said that the summer vacation always expands the system, this fall “may be a good opportunity to reset, to make sure that our system is working properly to handle a large amount of traffic.”

But like Major and Kasa Mbuambi, she thinks a long-term solution can only come from reforming the current system.

“As flight attendants, we’re right there with our passengers, we’re with them, we feel their frustrations directly, if not more, because we experience this so often, because we fly for a living,” says Mallis.

“We want to do the right thing by our passengers, we can see the poor people trying to get where they want to go, we read their worries, we see their worries and so we want them to get there. We want to say goodbye to where they want to go with a smile.”

A flight attendant’s guide to coping with summer travel chaos

Here are some flight attendant Ali Malis’ tips for traveling now:

– Pack your patience. Malice suggested that travelers should expect some form of travel disruption when leaving home. “I think it at least puts your expectations in the right place,” she says.

– Pack your snacksCome prepared to fuel yourself with any delays, advises Mallis. Make sure you have an empty water bottle next to your snack of choice and fill it up once you pass security. If your flight is grounded at any time on the runway or if you find yourself in a long line, you will drink and eat. In addition, some airlines are not running their on-board food service before Covid, and even if they were, there could be disruptions to the service: “If the weather is bad, if it’s really disruptive, there’s no guarantee we’ll be there.” We can safely carry out beverage service,” Malice explained.

– Catch morning flightsMalice points out that early flights are less likely to be disrupted, so booking early may be a good call. “Usually the operation starts again in the morning,” she said. And if you change to a later flight, if you’re at the airport first, there should be more options. Weather-related delays are most common in the afternoon and evening, Mallis added.

– leave retention period; Try and avoid tight ties where you can, Malice advises. And if you’re traveling to an important event, such as a wedding, try to fly a day or two in advance if you can to give yourself peace of mind.

Top photo: Frankfurt Airport airport display listing canceled flights on July 27, 2022. Source: Daniel Roland/AFP/Getty Images