Flight attendants still unsung heroes

By Charles Leocha

Travel columnist

updated 6:55 p.m. ET Sept. 10, 2007

Charles Leocha Travel columnist • Profile • E-mail

The war on terror continues, and yet few remember that the first casualties were flight attendants. In the six years since 9/11, there have been many ceremonies and many remembrances for those who died in that day's tragic events. Police officers, firefighters and other first responders gather every year with political bigwigs on stages across America. Sadly, flight attendants are almost never included.

That's a shame. I've said so on every anniversary of the September attacks, and I say so again this year.

Airline flight attendants are unsung heroes in this country's "war on terrorism." Recent events demonstrate that this is true now more than ever. The efforts to attack us have not abated, but they have been thwarted by better intelligence and higher levels of security. For example, when terrorists came up with new ways to mix explosives with liquids last year, the Department of Homeland Security banned liquids aboard the nation's aircraft. Once again, flight attendants found themselves on the front line of a war whose battles are constantly shifting while ever exposing them to danger.

Though experts cannot predict when there will be another terrorist attack, they can all agree that one will come. New plans are certainly being tested to attack our transportation systems. The stress on our airline systems has increased and will only get worse. And yet flight attendants continue to report to work every day, ready to do what they can to keep us safe. I hope the traveling public does not take them for granted.

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.

Six 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.

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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 perhaps 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. 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 anyway — 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.

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