If the nation’s flight attendants get their way, the government will fund some new security measures for flights, including hand-to-hand combat training for cabin crew members.
It makes sense, but my gosh … has it gotten that bad? Evidently so. Consider this quote from Corey Caldwell, a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants: “For better or for worse, once the cabin doors close, the flight attendants are the last line of defense,” she said.
The LA Times (owned by the Tribune Company) reports that flight attendants are proposing a four-point plan to Congress in its funding bill for the Federal Aviation Administration:
- Institute mandatory hand-to-hand combat training for all crew members.
- Equip flight attendants with portable communications devices so they can speak to the pilots during emergencies.
- Standardize the size of carry-on luggage so that flight attendants can look for suspicious passengers instead of struggling with oversized bags.
- Shut down onboard wireless Internet during high-threat periods to prevent terrorists from communicating with collaborators on the ground.
Good ideas, all. One thing that comes to mind is that the ideas are only about, oh, I don’t know, nine years overdue. Why wasn’t at least the combat training proposed in the months or early years after the September 11 attacks?
Better late than never, as in-flight security incidents continue to happen and are sadly a part of life now. Just think twice next time before getting snippy with a flight attendant unless you want to get roughed up!
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Photo by Todd Huffman, used under a Creative Commons license.
Flight Aviation administration proposes a four point plan. According to that plan it becomes compulsory to provide combat training to each crew member; portable communication devices should be given to the so that they can easily convey their messages in difficult circumstances. Size of luggage has been standardized; internet should be closed in emergency conditions.