Share stories about things that took place during flight that flight attendants may or may not have been trained for, or were left to use their own judgment for dealing with the problem.
I remember one trip we were boarding in ORD when this woman rushed down the jetbridge before all the rest of the passengers. She immediately asked to use the restroom and I pointed it out to her. While she was in there, the rest of the passengers started boarding. The flight attendant working the back came up to the galley and said the lavatory smelled like smoke after the woman had come out. While we were discussing what to do, the woman came up to us and said she couldn't find her seat. After I advised her which seat number, she then said, "You know what, I'll just go sit on the pilot's lap, he's my husband!" I went up to the cockpit and advised the captain and first officer that apparently one of them has a wife onboard who wants to sit on their lap. After using what we learned in CRM and the circumstances, we figured the best thing to do was to remove the woman from the aircraft, especially since she violated federal law and smoked in the lavatory.
Once the gate agent came down and we explained the situation, the agent advised that they were not surprised as the woman was acting a bit erratic in the terminal. When the agent went down the aisle to remove the woman from the aircraft she aske, "Oh, where are we going?!"
I think our crew handled the situation well that day; there was no escalation as everyone remained calm and was able to quietly remove the passenger without further incident.
The only thing I still can't figure out is how the lavatory smoke detector didn't go off - are they just for show?! 🙂
@wendi-dameron It sounds like the crew handled it as best as possible! Smoke detectors to me can be peculiar, as some things rapidly activate the detector, while others take a longer time. Vape devices seem to activate it fast; I only wish people knew that while it may be a vape device, it's classified as smoking and they can get an expensive fine for those few puffs in the lav. It's quite an expensive habit to have on a plane!
I still remember from many, many years ago when I worked as a flight attendant of a situation that happened when flight from JFK to Paris.
I was working in the aft of the 747 and one passenger came up to me and brought to my attention that there was the sound of an alarm coming out of someone's bag from an overhead bin. I started to consider the security training I received when going through the cabin to find the bag and the owner of the bag. I took the bag down from the overhead bin and carried it level. I walked to the front of "E" zone, holding the bag in front of me, and went row by row asking if anyone can identify that bag as theirs. I reached the last row and no one claimed the bag. All this time, the bag is beeping and I was receiving concerned looks from passengers.
Knowing how good our security was at JFK airport, I didn't have too much concern about it truly being an explosive device, but I did take some precautions. I went to the aft dry galley all the way in the rear of the plane, taking into consideration the LRBL. Although it wasn't the precise location, I knew this should be done in the aft part of the plane. I placed the bag on top of the counter, slowly unzipped the bag and then identified the alarm clock. There was nothing attached to it, so I believed it was not a threat at all. I turned off the alarm clock and put it back into the bag. As I did this, a passenger came out of the aft left lavatory, saw me standing in the galley with their bag and said, "that's my bag, is there a problem?" I told him the alarm clock in his bag turned on and it brought concern to the passengers in the immediate area who can hear it, which was why I was going through the back to turn off the alarm clock. The passenger apologized for this and took the bag back to their seat.
What I learn from this or should have done better?
If I remember correctly, I had been flying for about five or six years when this occurred. I thought I'd use reasonable judgment considering what I did, however, it probably would've been better had I informed other flight attendants, the Purser, and perhaps the flight crew what I was going to do instead of doing it on my own. Communication during normal, irregular, and emergency situations is very important, and in that instance, I should've communicated better.
