I stumbled on this post recently on a flyhigh Manila blog published on April 1st 2015. “Flight Attendants Soon To Be Obliged to Stow Luggage On the Overhead Bins”
“The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines will be implementing a new law that requires all flight attendants and stewards to lift hand carry luggage of the passengers unto the overhead bins. Cabin crew members of Philippine Airlines, PAL Express, Cebu Pacific, Air Asia Zest, and Tiger Philippines will soon be required to willfully offer to get the luggage of every passenger and to stow them all properly on the overhead bins.Reason for this new rule is to make sure all hand carry luggage are within the required weight and size. Flight attendants are also required to arrange all luggage properly so that incase of heavy turbulence, heavy hand carry bags will not fall and cause injury. CAAP will require all airlines to do additional training on luggage arrangement and how to properly lift hand carry items properly into the bins as not to hurt or injure their backs.”
“Well, here is what we have to say….”
Lol…..this post was actually thought provoking and it brought to mind an experience of a Crew, which i will be sharing with you.
Some years ago, the Airline i worked for as a Crew Line Manager, was operating a flight from Lagos to Abuja. That particular flight was full. As Crew Members, what we usually find Synonymous with such flights are excess carry on bags to attend to. In a bid to hasten the boarding process and prevent delays, Crew members assist Passengers to create space in the overhead bins for them to stow their bags, or help them stow it. Such was the case on this flight.
The Crew had helped a travelling diplomat in business class to stow her bag. Unfortunately on arrival at destination, the bag was no where to be found. You can only imagine the high profile documents the bag contained: International Passports, laptop, classified documents, all went missing. All efforts to trace the bag were futile. Obviously a thief was onboard the flight and had stolen the bag.
As would be expected, the Diplomat reported the case to the police in Abuja and the Concerned Crew was summoned by the police for Questioning.
Yes! the Crew took the bag and helped her stow it in the overhead bin. But what happened thereafter, nobody knows. Suffice to mention that the handling procedures for Crew does not include watching over the bags in their stowage.
Thankfully the Airline was solidly behind the Crew. On every visit to the police he was escorted by a representative from the security department. At some point the Crew was absolved of the charges. Needless to say that this was an emotional and mentally stressing period for him.
After this incidence, baggage handling procedure was amended. Crew members were advised to show them empty spaces in the overhead bins where they can stow their bags. They were henceforth advised not to handle passengers bags. It became a DIY.
As expected, this did not go down well with some passengers who naturally expected the crew members to assist them stow their bags. So this became a service issue we had to address continuously.
Now, whilst passengers requires the Crew members to handle their luggage onboard, the fact remains that there are no defined laws protecting staffs as regards legal issues resulting from missing or mishandled bags, let alone address the health problem that emanates from consistently lifting heavy items. Take my word for it, Naija passengers sure know how to carry excess Cabin Baggage.
Taking this scenario and other scenarios into consideration, where do we draw the line between Excellent Customer Service and staff protection?
As an Aviator, working as a Ticketing staff, Check in, baggage handler, Turn around Coordinator, Engineer. Have you had similar experience in the course of carrying out your duty? What are your thoughts on this? Share with us through our comments section.