I know flight attendants have a lot of duties and responsibilities, but I’m genuinely puzzled as to how this could happen with any frequency…
Sleeping passengers left on American flights after landing
PYOK has the story of a memo that American flight attendants received from their union, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA). According to the memo, the airline has reportedly seen an increase in the number of incidents where crews have left aircraft after a flight, only for there to still be passengers onboard.
Presumably this typically happens when passengers fall asleep and don’t realize the plane has arrived at the gate. This is a serious violation of Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs), which require passengers to not be onboard aircraft unless there are also crew members. Per the memo:
“These procedures are required to ensure that no passenger is ever left onboard. Check lavatories, and make sure no passengers are sleeping in or under seats. This is a critical final check to confirm that no one has been overlooked, and this ensures that you and your crew aren’t at risk of violating a FAR.”
“Leaving passengers on the aircraft unattended is a significant safety and security concern and we appreciate everyone’s shared efforts in ensuring this doesn’t happen.”
The union advised flight attendants to always do a post-flight security check, and to not just leave that to one crew member. Furthermore, as a final check, the lead flight attendants is supposed to perform a cabin walk-through, to ensure that no one is left behind.
I’m shocked this happens with any frequency
Admittedly I’m a light sleeper, so I can’t even imagine the concept of sleeping through a landing and deplaning, given the amount of noise and light. But in order for someone to be left on the aircraft, it can’t just be that the passenger sleeps through it, but also that the crew somehow doesn’t notice.
It hasn’t been revealed, but I’d be fascinated to know the frequency with which this happens, especially if the union claims there’s an untick in these instances. Like, I’m not surprised this happens a handful of times per year across airlines, and then it usually makes headlines. But I’m surprised it’s an issue that happens with any regularity at one airline.
As an example of when this did happen, in 2019 there was a viral story, whereby a woman was trapped on an Air Canada jet. She had fallen asleep, and woke up in the middle of the night, to find herself on a cold, dark aircraft, with no one else around.
It made headlines for good reason, because it’s kind of a wild story!
Bottom line
I guess American flight attendants have an issue with leaving passengers on planes after landing. Or at least that seems to be the case, based on a memo from the flight attendant union to members. While I’m not surprised this happens every so often across global airlines, I wouldn’t have expected this to happen with any frequency on one airline.
What do you make of this memo from American’s flight attendant union?
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