Airlines finally get their MeToo moment
Dallas — From Southwest’s “hostesses” in the 1970s to Hooters Air to the Vietnamese budget carrier whose flight attendants were made to wear bikinis, airlines have a long history of sexualising the role of flight attendants.
In November, the Trump administration put its stamp on the effort, shifting the 14-member task force under a four-person Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee that reports to US transportation secretary Elaine Chao. “The #MeToo movement seems to be making an impression in a lot of different areas,” says Judith Kaleta, the US department of transportation’s deputy-general counsel and the task force’s chair. “Organisations are putting new policies in place.
Mixing alcohol with public incivility in a small enclosed space can create a hostile environment for anyone — but especially for flight attendants, who must interact with passengers. The purpose of the task force is to help standardise how illegal behaviour is reported, since right now procedures vary by carrier, and even by incident. Another goal of the legislation was to facilitate industry-wide crew training.
“It’s all based on the airline policy or the whim of the individual, and we think 90% of these things get lost in that daisy chain of reporting,” says Paul Hudson, president of FlyersRights.org, a passenger advocacy group. Once the plane lands and the passengers disperse, it’s too late, says Hudson, a former chief attorney for the New York State crime victims board. “Speed is essential in these type of things.
. There is no federal law requiring them to report incidents or keep records of complaints. This curbs the number of investigations, Hudson said. Montgomery, the veteran Southwest flight attendant, also serves on the federal task force. She compares dealing with sexual harassment or assault to an onboard emergency, like when noxious fumes fill the cabin or a passenger falls ill. Flight attendants should act immediately based on their training, she says: “We want that to be as automatic when there is an incident of sexual misconduct. It’s fair to say that some incidents don’t get reported in a timely manner.
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