They have been called ‘glorified stewardesses and stewards’ but there is more to an airline cabin crew member’s job than just serving food and drinks. SANDRO VELLA, secretary of the Union of Cabin Crew, explains how their role has changed over the years. He was talking to David Kelleher

From baggage handlers to glamorous pin-ups, from pushing aircraft to acting as security personnel, the role of flight attendants has changed enormously over the years.

Many still consider cabin crew to be an ornament on board aircraft, serving meals and drinks to passengers and occasionally being called to take care of an unruly passenger.

In a way, the role of cabin crew today is very much the same that it was when they were introduced in the 1930s. Back then, cabin crew members were only female, short, stocky and weighing not more than 50kg and they were employed by airlines to load luggage and push out aircraft.

However, after the first few incidents (and accidents) aboard aircraft, pilots felt the need to have a “rear view” of what went on in the cabin and therefore flight attendants also became “safety and security personnel”. It also opened the door to males who wanted to join what would soon become a glamorous job.

Nearly 80 years later, cabin crew members have shed the glamour image completely and security has become their main focus.

“The EU-OPS legislation will come into force this year and this covers the whole remit of activity performed by cabin crew,” Sandro Vella, secretary of the Union of Cabin Crew, explained.

“It covers training, health issues, security matters for both cabin and cockpit crew. The guidelines are very strict and nothing like we have seen before in terms of responsibilities and requirements,” Mr Vella said.

Technically, cabin crew members still serve drinks and hot meals, distribute newspapers and welcome passengers on board an aircraft. So what has changed?

“The concept of security has changed a lot since 11 September 2001. For example, how we treat a hijacking today is totally different from the approach and methodology used 10 years ago. Cabin crew members undergo special training and take part in a simulated hijacking exercise every year,” Mr Vella said.

Security on board the aircraft is now their main duty and cabin crew members have for all intents and purposes become security personnel.

“We have to challenge people when necessary. We have to search an aircraft before and after each flight. Even the cleaning teams are closely monitored and another search is carried out after they have left the aircraft. This is for our own good and to protect the interests of our passengers. After 11 September we learned the hard way that you cannot trust anybody and you can never let your guard down,” Mr Vella said.

Security has become such an important issue that airline security costs have exploded over the past few years. Getting passengers to dispose of any liquids before the flight and any item that is considered a possible weapon takes time and money. And not many airlines are willing to foot the bill.

Mr Vella said that in May of last year, attempts were made by a number of airlines to allow blades of up to four inches long on board. The campaign started in the US and European airlines soon followed.

“Airlines which were asking for fewer restrictions were those which had the highest security bills,” he said. Their proposal was strongly opposed. And the August London incident halted this campaign.

Health is another important aspect of their job. The new regulations for cabin crew also stipulate that such persons have to be certified first-aiders and qualified as resuscitators. The health and safety manual has also been re-written this year and this has meant a return to the classroom for all crews.

“Airlines are duty-bound to have a doctor’s medical kit on board the aircraft apart from the usual first-aid box and in some cases, a defibrillator. Doctors do not usually travel with their medical bag so this has to be provided just in case a doctor is travelling and his services are needed.”

The new regulations also detail the hours of work and rest periods that are obligatory for cabin crew members.

“You cannot operate a flight if the cabin crew members are tired. The regulations state that all crew members have to log their hours and the maximum hours of flying permitted per year is 900 hours.

“On a monthly basis, cabin crew members cannot work more than 100 flying hours. Due to the harsh environment in the aircraft, mostly the 100 per cent dry air and the low oxygen level, the total hours of duty cannot exceed 60 hours a week,” Mr Vella said.

The rest entitlement also increases when cabin crew members work at night between 1.30am and 5.30am, what is known as the Window of Circadian Low (WOCL).

Cabin crew members also have to undergo an annual health check when they reach a certain age, which was not the case in the past, he said.

These regulations inevitably impose certain restraints on airline planners who have to follow these strict rules. Has this created problems for the airline?

“There has to be a minimum number of staff on board an aircraft. Internationally, it is established as one cabin crew member per 50 seats installed. Therefore, on the A319 we have three cabin crew members, with four on the A320,” Mr Vella explained, adding that it was sufficient for the airline’s needs.

“In summer, we bring in temporary cabin crew members to be able to meet the substantial increase in workload.”

According to Mr Vella, the service aspect of a cabin crew member’s duty is at the bottom of the list and most of the time it helps to fill the time. Service is determined by the number of crew members on board and not vice versa.

“Even the way we serve drinks and hot meals has changed over the years. New methods have been introduced that cut down preparation time and each flight is treated differently. For example, on Malta-UK flights, we serve coffee or tea twice, but on the flights to Italy, only once, simply because the Italians do not particularly like our coffee,” Mr Vella said.

He added: “We are often told that we have a glamorous job but there is not much glamour to it anymore.”

The public also perceive a cabin crew member’s job to be well paid, especially in summer when the number of flights – both scheduled and chartered – increases.

But how much does each cabin crew member cost the airline? According to Mr Vella, the cost per cabin crew member per hour is around Lm12 and this is well within the average for the airline industry.

“The cost of one cabin crew member per one flying hour is around Lm12 and this includes national insurance, training, salary, uniforms and so on. On a flight lasting five flying hours, for example, with four crew members, the total cost per flight is around Lm240.

“This works out to less than Lm1 per passenger ticket. Compared to other airlines, the security, safety and service cost per cabin crew member per flight is nearly the same,” Mr Vella explained.

The Union of Cabin Crew has 220 members and this figure is divided nearly equally between males and females. Mr Vella said the union would like to see a longer roster being introduced because the present one on a monthly basis does not allow cabin crew members to plan that much ahead.

“We shall do our best to follow the current national agenda, that is, enabling females to retain their jobs by improving working conditions.

“Half the employees we represent are females and most of them are parents.”

Yet, unlike other parents they cannot just “fly” back home when they are urgently needed.

A few months ago, Air Malta’s cabin crew was harshly criticised, even by this newspaper editorially, after the international media reported that a Bulgarian girl who left Malta for Sofia, fell asleep and when she woke up she found herself once again in Malta.

“Unfortunately, the media did not get all the facts right. One very important fact was that the flight had a stopover in Istanbul, Turkey.

Here more passengers boarded the plane on their way to Malta. The passenger in question remained on board the aircraft when it arrived in Sofia with the passengers bound for Malta instead of disembarking with the rest of the passengers stopping in Sofia.

The crew noticed there was a discrepancy in the number of passengers on board and highlighted this fact to the ground crew.

When the list was checked, the Air Malta crew was given the all clear, the reason being that they had a double entry from the previous destination, that is Istanbul, and the flight continued on its journey.

“All the documentation was in order but where the mix-up occurred has still not been determined. What has certainly been confirmed is that the Maltese cabin crew was not at fault for what happened,” Mr Vella explained.