Flight anxiety among passengers is soaring amid high-profile crashes and technical problems. In a poll commissioned by The Points Guy, nearly 90% of respondents said they were afraid to fly. It's made flight attendants' jobs harder. When travelers are nervous, there's a risk of unruly behavior. But whether it's passenger misconduct or a crash landing, flight attendants are often the first line of defense. They're not just there to serve drinks; they're trained in firefighting, water and land evacuations, first aid, and self-defense. As the number of airplane passengers is expected to hit a record high in 2025, can flight attendants keep everyone safe?
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00:00Stay seated! Release seatbelts! Youth! Hub at the bottom!
00:05Leave everything! Jump and slide! Come this way! Leave everything! Jump and slide!
00:11When a plane crashes, flight attendants are the first line of defense.
00:17Flight anxiety has skyrocketed among passengers in the last few years
00:23because of high-profile maintenance issues and crashes.
00:28Preparing for these kinds of emergencies takes extensive training, from firefighting to water evacuations.
00:35The perception is that, oh, we just were waitresses in the sky.
00:40Flight attendants do have to follow strict fashion rules.
00:44So for the mascara, does it need to be so clumpy? No. So it needs to look very good.
00:50And go through rigorous instruction for meal service.
00:53Did you check with the passenger whether she wants to have a glass of wine?
00:57I didn't hear you.
01:01But this sometimes makes travelers overlook how crucial they can be.
01:05Unfortunately today, a lot of people just don't respect flight attendants.
01:10They are on that plane to get your behind off of it if an emergency occurs, not to kiss it.
01:17So what does it take to pass flight attendant boot camp?
01:21And can all this training keep travelers out of harm's way?
01:27The first commercial flights in the world didn't even have cabin crew, like we see today.
01:31In the 1920s, 1930s, when the industry was developing, arguably that was the least safe time to fly.
01:41We didn't have jet engines back then. We had, you know, propeller planes and they just weren't as reliable.
01:47These aircraft, they were very rickety. They were very loud. So people were afraid to fly.
01:52So in 1930, a nurse named Ellen Church went to what is now United Airlines and suggested it have nurses on board to help keep passengers calm.
02:01United agreed. It told Ellen to hire a crew. They were called the original eight and all were nurses.
02:08So they were there for peace of mind just to settle nerves in that aspect, but they weren't really trained for, you know, robust safety procedures that we see today.
02:17After World War II, airplanes started getting bigger with more exits and they flew longer over water routes.
02:24Flight attendants started being trained on more complex safety situations.
02:28Breathe normally and continue to wear your mask.
02:31So think water landings, cold water survival, more robust evacuations just because you have a lot of people.
02:37You had more exit doors to work with.
02:40Then we saw the flight attendant job evolve from being a nurse to being what was then called a stewardess.
02:48In the U.S. at the time, the government set routes and fares.
02:52So some of the only ways airlines could compete were with things like decor, food and beverage and cabin crew.
02:59The role of the flight attendant was almost a flying sexpot.
03:05They were very much sexualized to get people on board.
03:09The people who flew on airlines were mostly businessmen.
03:12Airlines invested in designer clothes by Chanel, Dior and Valentino for their stewardesses.
03:18They also had height and weight requirements.
03:21Female flight attendants for airlines like Chicago and Southern had to be less than 28 years old, single and have no children.
03:28And they were required to be under 120 pounds and shorter than 5'5".
03:34Being subject to random inspections by the supervisors before they got on the plane.
03:40The infamous girdle checks.
03:42But there was a change brewing and the women started to fight back.
03:46The flight attendant said, no, we're not going to be treated like porcelain dolls.
03:51Women, join us! Women, join us!
03:56From the 1960s to the 1980s, the women's liberation movement was in full swing and sexual harassment in the workplace became illegal.
04:05They formed unions.
04:07They fought back on restrictions such as flight attendants having to be single, flight attendants not being able to have children.
04:15Also during the period, a slew of aviation accidents led to changes in cabin crew training.
04:22We call it blood priority.
04:24And it sounds very morbid, but things change when people die or a major accident happens.
04:29The airline industry globally invests an enormous amount of time and money and other resources, training especially, to prevent those mistakes from ever happening again.
04:42Release seatbelts!
04:44In 1983, a back lavatory on an Air Canada flight caught fire, eventually killing about half the passengers on board.
04:51After that, there was training about learning how to put out fires, evaluating fires better.
04:56The U.S. at that point made smoke detectors in lavatories mandatory.
05:01Today, fire and smoke are still some of the most dangerous scenarios flight attendants might face.
05:07Although rare, these situations can happen if a lithium ion battery in a phone or laptop ignites, or if the plane strikes a bird.
05:14That's why it's so important that flight attendants learn how to fight fires, like those training here in Doha.
05:20So you're going to stroll in the cabin.
05:21You're patrolling your cabin.
05:22You observe that there is a lot of fire.
05:23Action.
05:24Sabrina, bring BCF.
05:25Me, line inform commander.
05:26We remove the electrical power.
05:27Switch off IFE.
05:28Go ahead.
05:29And take the BCF.
05:30Take the handle.
05:31Remove the safety pin.
05:32And in the nozzle at the base of fire.
05:45They also train with special equipment, like these masks, to handle smoke.
05:50Milan, you're patrolling the cabin.
05:53And you observe there was smoke that was coming out from the overhead stowage.
05:59And one of the passenger alerted you.
06:01Smoke, smoke, smoke, smoke.
06:08Close.
06:09Close.
06:10There.
06:11Very good.
06:12So in case.
06:14How long are we waiting now?
06:16Around one minute.
06:17For new Cutter flight attendants, training lasts eight weeks.
06:22Hey hey, are you okay?
06:23There is no breathing.
06:24breathing i'm starting cpr and for an adult you'll use two hands okay first aid training starts in
06:32week five also first aid helping deliver babies a situation that has happened on a cutter flight
06:39before let's go into the practical session of our drills even seasoned crew members have to return
06:46to this facility every 12 months for a refresher on their training
06:50freeze freeze like opening emergency exit doors on this mock-up a330 evacuate evacuate evacuate
07:00check the door is on check the water level is safe it's safe go ahead we open release
07:09very good slide inflated open seat belt leave everything come this way inflate life jackets
07:25hands and knees all customers are out what do you do next check anyone here you have an incapacitated
07:31passenger you have an incapacitated passenger how do you take that person i will lift okay and drag
07:39okay so you leave you use the drag method with you go ahead take the passenger
07:46okay lordana that was perfectly done thank you so much ladies and gentlemen can you clap for our lord
07:52dana please thank you
07:56flight attendants and passengers knowing how to operate the doors can save lives in an emergency
08:01in 1985 a british air tours plane engine caught fire 55 passengers died on board partly because those
08:09seated in the exit row didn't know how to open the doors so a couple things were learned for flight
08:15attendant training briefing the exit rows and ensuring that those people in the exit rows know how to
08:20operate the door just better evacuation procedures to encourage people to use all exit doors by then flight
08:25attendants had already been trained to evacuate a plane within 90 seconds to see how crews learned how to
08:32get passengers out quickly we went to the singapore airlines training center just go just go go go go go
08:39the airline has a fleet of half a dozen different commercial planes different aircraft type means different
08:44emergency equipment different doors different operations but it uses this massive mock-up to practice
08:50sliding it's half boeing triple seven and half airbus a380 the height of this mock-up is exactly the
08:58height it is of the actual aircraft this class of incoming flight attendants hasn't flown yet
09:04all the way don't hold anything constantly walk out walk out walk out walk out and go
09:12some of these trainers have decades of experience
09:15so we protect our crew very much there are paddings down here to ensure that they are
09:31protected from the fall and the deceleration pads in the middle of the slide and at the bottom of the
09:36slide to is to ensure that they don't fly off in the real situation the actual deceleration strips
09:43are more towards the bottom good they also tell the trainees to keep their arms up to prevent friction
09:51burn and to sit up straight why is it bad to go down lying down then you cannot move your body upright
09:57to get off the slide people behind you will come and ram into you for that same reason passengers should
10:04leave everything behind so they don't block the slide with their bags that's what happened when this
10:10aeroflot plane crash landed in russia 41 people died experts say that number could have been lower if
10:18people hadn't stopped to get their carry-ons during the evacuation passengers going down also have to
10:25remove any high-heeled shoes so they don't puncture the slide how do you make sure they're not scared
10:32this is scary well they have the resilience and the uh tenacity because they just want their cabin crew
10:39we choose with the right caliber and criteria
10:52over in atlanta delta airlines flight attendants prepare for land evacuations on this motion trainer
10:58it is our one and only trainer that does shake does move evacuate evacuate leave everything
11:10come this way leave everything jump and slide come this way leave everything jump and slide stay seated
11:19stay seated she's thinking about her commands she's thinking about where her exits are she's thinking
11:25about how to operate those exits she's thinking about where her emergency equipment is release seat
11:30belts she's also thinking about people that got on board that could help her in an emergency you help at
11:36the bottom and she's also going to think about the people that got on who might need her assistance
11:43you're expected to make good judgment calls and you're expected to remember all your training and
11:47respond to emergencies and be delta gracious and patient and all of that on lack of sleep as well
11:54sometimes leave everything jump and slide release seat belts delta airlines uses the 767 mock-up to
12:01practice emergency landings on water luckily this is very rare the last time it happened in the u.s
12:08was in 2009 when a u.s airways flight from new york landed in the hudson river and miraculously
12:14everybody lived that's because the flight attendants their training for water landings kicked in
12:19and they knew to direct people to the overwing exits and the front exits because the
12:23back was taking on water so if you can't swim then you can't be a flight attendant a lot of the times
12:30they have to show that they could physically carry a full-size body through the water put it on a raft
12:35and get someone out of the water in case you have a water landing these are things that if you cannot
12:39do you flunk out and people do flunk out still a lot of people want to be cabin crew in 2023 65 000
12:47people applied for just 5 000 delta flight attendant jobs the airline offers a starting salary of 35 000
12:54dollars with health benefits and discounted flights united told business insider its average salary is
13:00nearly eighty thousand dollars for cabin crew senior flight attendants on airlines can earn a hundred
13:06thousand dollars or more but the industry generally has sky-high turnover because training and the job can be
13:13so tough this may be a very very safe industry but is so high consequence there's not much room for
13:18error and that's why the stakes are so high when you become a flight attendant those wings that they wear
13:23they're earned they are the first and sometimes last line of defense when there is a safety problem
13:33a security problem in the cabin and oh yes in between when things are normal they're there to you know
13:40provide cabin service airlines still take cabin service seriously because it's often all customers
13:47see thank you so much wow it's so big
13:59back in singapore business class flight attendants are doing a mock service called a dry run how to set
14:05up the table making sure the glassware the crockery the cutlery are all placed in the right position
14:11nazahara binti jahari who goes by zara is guiding 20 trainees through this mock service one person
14:18handling everyone um during the dry run can be quite challenging okay so now josephine you may start
14:24laying the table for miss core good okay is that the correct one yes it is not a bit further in
14:35before you offer the wine what do you need to place on the table yes so please remember the the right
14:44procedure yeah yes very nice holding a full bottle of wine and pouring directly on the table can be
14:52quite challenging for some of them especially when they're very new i usually pre-empt them to start
14:58building up muscles before they come for business class training but you don't touch the bread right
15:07yes do not touch the bread we have the sourdough over here and the malty grain or would you like
15:14to try our garlic bread can you have garlic bread please certainly all singapore airlines flight
15:19attendants start out in economy in blue uniforms after about a year or so then you are trained to be
15:26able to work in business class and the crew that work in first class or suites you must be a ranking
15:32crew that means you are of leading rank which is the green uniform we want to give our passenger the
15:39feeling of having an in-flight dining service hence it's very important for us to study here and that's
15:46why we have to make it perfect welcome miss core please enjoy your meal thank you so much
15:55over at cutter airways flight attendants also go through what's called a wet run with real food
16:01as you can see we do pay so much attention to detail this veteran cabin crew is learning how to plate
16:08a new menu for business class which includes caviar all right so you have to be very gentle with the
16:14the little pearls when you're doing the plating very good so if in case you do have any uh stains or
16:21anything like that on the plate always make sure that you do clean it out before it goes into the
16:26cabin all right so what do you think trang uh what we can do differently next time i should have taken the
16:34uh mother spin pearl to scoop it out instead of taking the uh metal spoon aluminum from the spoon
16:43also when in contact with the caviar can alter the taste
16:49all right so whenever you open the the packaging you will see this uh cabbage on top do you can you
16:55tell me what is the reason why we have that on top well we try to keep it moist and tender beautiful okay
17:01better results absolutely so we do not use it for plating very good what are the things that you
17:07would change if you're doing this on board the aircraft well i believe i'll be using probably a
17:12spoon uh-huh to place the vegetables to place the kale is going to be a more presentable plate yeah and
17:19much more hygiene as well next trainees like dana houghton practice serving the food in the business class
17:26mock-up okay the salmon the lemon much and your camera um mel butters and
17:34mayonnaise some spring onions eggs and onions and what is this one is sour cream all right very good
17:44so what i recommend is that once you place everything that will be a good time to introduce
17:49everything yeah so when we do multitasking sometimes we tend to make a lot of mistakes
17:55after serving the main course and wine it's on to dessert okay so we recommend that you place
18:01first the fork because that's the furthest one and then you move to the um right side cutlery
18:08there's always so much to remember by doing it by standards everything is always have to be perfect
18:13all the time what also has to be perfect through training is their whole look from their hair and makeup
18:23to their manicures and shoes very nice manicure very nice lipstick also thank you very much
18:32this is one of the ones that we wear while we're boarding the aircraft and then throughout the flight
18:40with the service we have the the blue one the dining jacket that's what we call it you have this
18:46really long flight 16 17 hours is a very long time for you to be in the same uniform and women always
18:52have to keep their hair tied back in a bun i just take it twist it and just start forming the bun
18:59my hair net will just go over my bun like so
19:06and then these are the scrunchies as well dana has been a cutter flight attendant for over five years
19:12i'm from jamaica so i'm from a very small island in the caribbean and you don't go out much or you
19:17don't see much of the world i think growing up that was one of my dream jobs and you see anybody who's
19:23working with airlines as basically like superheroes in the beginning it used to take me a very long
19:28time but now it's quite easy so the bun is low enough the hat will go just about here and then i need
19:35to ensure that the string is below the bun like that and in place and then we're ready to go flight
19:44attendants makeup has to match the uniform and follow cutter rules so you need to have a full
19:50coverage foundation right okay next one very good mascara so for the mascara does it need to be so clumpy
19:59no no so it needs to look natural very good okay next one what do you think is the best color for
20:05her yeah burgundy great i did my best you did your best no worries there's always a concealer to clean
20:12up the area you know that right concealer is our best friend by the way when you do your makeup early
20:19in the morning you are using your bedroom light very nice application the moment you step out of your
20:26accommodation what happens you get scared right so now you need to make sure that try to use as natural
20:33light as possible okay so diana can you please show it to your colleague how is it great yeah
20:47she's more prettier right and then always the last thing is our handbag this one is
20:54every crew will have the same one it's very easy to get mixed up so you can always just put your own
21:00passcode and do that and just opens like that for men the airline's grooming rules include no makeup
21:07no buzz cuts and no beards only mustaches so now basically you need to shop uh for the flights
21:14with the fully grown mustache i uh use my hair dryer so i can make the line over here and make my hair fall
21:21on this side okay and then again i apply just a little bit okay of this wax or any kind of paste
21:29that needs to be met so if you use anything that's shiny it's not allowed and nothing too much
21:35while beauty rules may have gotten easier since the weight checks of the 1950s
21:40overall flight attendants jobs have gotten a lot harder
21:43we have seen in the last six or seven years a spike in air rage fights breaking out among travelers
21:53or between passengers and cabin crew and so not only were they quite literally taking punches on
21:59planes from disgruntled passengers we saw people getting duct taped to their seat
22:04on airplanes because they couldn't calm themselves the flight attendants did not apply for these jobs
22:11because they wanted to get into boxing matches with a stranger on an airplane
22:19climate change is destabilizing the jet stream and causing turbulence to get worse
22:24and that's making flight attendants jobs harder just because they're the ones that are typically
22:30standing during service when they may be going through these pockets of unexpected turbulence
22:36flight attendants also have intense work schedules with frequent time zone changes
22:40overnight flights and long irregular hours
22:46Qatar and Singapore fly the longest routes in the world topping well over 17 hours
22:54plus passenger flight anxiety is on the rise social media searches for you know flight anxiety fear of
23:01flying has shot up and i mean that's understandable but is flying still safe
23:07still safe well since the 1990s the number of yearly crashes has more than halved and fatalities have
23:13dropped 76 percent by 2025 the u.s had gone 16 years without a fatal crash but that streak was broken in
23:23january when a military helicopter collided midair with an american airlines commuter plane near washington dc
23:29experts have been warning about the accident risk over dc possibly becoming reality
23:39we have a shortage of air traffic controllers in the united states that's
23:42you know going back years we have seen a lot of these near misses we've seen a lot of these lapse
23:47in air traffic control technology and communication over dc that's a very very congested air space the
23:54administration has now applied new rules to that area where helicopters can fly when they can fly
24:00but there's still more that needs to be done when it comes to improving air traffic control
24:05other high-profile accidents that have happened in the last year appear to have been caused by a bird
24:10strike and pilot error the deadly incidents involving the boeing maxes were largely due to software issues
24:18still flying is statistically the safest way to travel and historically qatar singapore and delta
24:29are among the world's safest airlines even your least safe airline in the entire world is still going
24:36to be safer than driving a car statistically i'm not going to sit here and say that flight attendants are
24:40solely responsible it's a team sport you have everyone from the ramp crew to the pilots to the dispatchers to
24:47the mechanics all these people they have to work together to ensure that every plane that takes
24:52off lands safely but if something fails and the aircraft is on the ground and there are still
24:56survivors the flight attendants are the last line of defense at that point to get people out of the
25:01plane which is what happened in february to a delta commuter plane in toronto a crash landed caught fire
25:09flipped and slid to a stop so you had spatial disorientation happening what was up was down and what
25:17was down was up it was like an alice in wonderland kind of setting and you had the only two flight
25:23attendants on that plane but they got all the passengers out of that aircraft safely the toronto
25:30crash is far from the only example of flight attendants saving lives in emergencies their training has
25:36greatly improved survivability of air crashes on 9-11 the cabin crew on board united flight 93 reported the
25:44hijacking and fought back against the terrorists alongside the passengers likely preventing the
25:49plane from hitting the capital in 2024 after a runway collision involving a japan airlines plane
25:56miraculously every single person on that plane evacuated and experts really point to one the safety
26:04video of japan airlines is very straightforward it doesn't have all these theatrics that maybe you've
26:08seen on other airlines and people largely left their bags behind but should we be concerned about
26:17these kinds of situations happening more often absolutely not i am not personally afraid of flying
26:22i am very confident in the industry that we have set up in the united states my husband is an airline
26:27pilot and he's not afraid to go out and fly the line i have no qualms about flying because i know
26:34that the airlines take safety seriously exit block go that way what does concern me is we've seen some
26:42firings uh under the current administration at the faa many of these people were safety professionals
26:51if we don't get enough air traffic controllers to handle this huge influx and flying and demand in
26:55the united states then it's possible something like what happened over dc could happen again and we would
27:01have to learn from more mistakes so what can you do as a passenger don't tune out the safety briefing
27:09and don't tune out the information the flight attendants are sharing with you it could save your
27:13life wear your seat belt even when the seat belt sign isn't lit if there is an evacuation leave your
27:19stuff behind if you're in an exit row read that card although rare if something does go wrong
27:25that's how you can get out of life