Unsung heroes

By Charles Leocha

Travel columnist

updated 8:02 p.m. ET Sept. 6, 2006

Airline flight attendants are the country’s unsung heroes in our current “War on Terrorism.” Recent events demonstrate that this is true now more than ever. Every time a plane takes off, every time a traveler stands up and walks toward the cockpit, and every time a passenger ducks behind his seat to dig through carry-on luggage, flight attendants go on high alert.

Five years ago, immediately after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the media was filled with stories about “real heroes” — rescuers, police and firefighters who risked their lives to save workers in those buildings.

Those brave emergency workers were racing up stairs into harm’s way while the office workers were filing down the stairs away from danger as quickly as possible. The firefighters, EMTs and police deserve every accolade they receive.

Now, let’s think about something. Firefighters and police officers are trained for danger. When they arrive at the scene of an incident, they can see the broad outlines of what they are facing. They are skilled in protecting us. They do it every day.

But what about flight attendants?

Flight attendants face potential danger every time they go to work, too. Where once their main purpose was to see to in-flight comforts and provide knowledgeable assistance in case of an emergency landing, their new job is much more nerve-racking. Worse, it is almost always taken for granted.

What once was an airborne world of giddy tourists and grumpy businessmen is now a war zone. Trouble, perhaps deadly trouble, could break out in the cabin at any time. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But someday.

New terrorist dangers are unknown. So unknown, in fact, that the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Aviation Administration and other government organizations still cannot predict where, when or how an attack will take place. It was only about a month ago that the new threat of liquid explosives that can be mixed aboard aircraft surfaced as the latest suicide-bombing technique.

While passengers grumble about the inconvenience of waiting in long security lines, taking off our shoes, putting liquids in checked baggage and having our luggage and bodies probed, most of us have decided to fly again, at least to places that are important to us. We have that choice. Flight attendants don’t. If they want to continue being paid, they have to go to work.

INTERACTIVE Know 9/11? Take our super-tough quiz September 11 was one of the biggest news stories of all time, and certainly the most widely covered (including by the burgeoning Internet). But how much were you taking in?

The same is true of pilots, of course. But pilots are now barricaded inside their cockpits. Some have been given stun guns and others have been trained to carry firearms. But what are flight attendants getting?

Not much. Before they lock themselves in the cockpit, captains now basically tell the flight attendants that they will have to fend for themselves. They don’t have much choice; most everyone agrees that the cockpit door must stay locked.

Yes, some airlines now train flight attendants in the basics of self-defense: skills like coordinating with other flight attendants, maintaining distance, assuming a protective body position and dealing with unruly passengers. Some airlines even offer advanced programs — on a voluntary basis — but the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) still hasn’t designed a system for evaluating this training and — worse — flight attendants have a hard time getting time off to attend.

As for public recognition, there’s been almost nothing. Instead, what flight attendants have seen since I first wrote this story five years ago is a continuing series of layoffs, downsizings and reductions in pay.

Are our memories so short?

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