Communications Workers of America
Airline passenger service workers are going to social media in an attempt to temper the disturbing trend witnessed over the past several months of passenger rage incidents onboard flights and in terminals across the U.S.
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 6001 in Euless on Monday released three videos as part of digital advertising campaign ahead of the forthcoming holiday travel season to raise awareness about the matter and encourage civility among passengers. Here is one:
The ads are running on Facebook and Instagram in Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, the CWA says in a statement.
“No matter where you’re from or where you work, we all want to be treated with decency and respect,” the CWA says. “However, some disgruntled travelers are taking their frustrations out on the very people who make their travel safe and secure.”
The CWA represents workers in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, health care, public service and education, and manufacturing, including more than 20,000 passenger service agents who work for Fort Worth-based American Airlines and its subsidiaries.
In the two months since August, the Federal Aviation Administration has referred 37 cases involving unruly airline passengers to the FBI for possible criminal prosecution, according to The Associated Press. That number is among 227 cases that have been referred this year.
A noticeable spike in incidents began in January. Airlines have reported more than 5,000 incidents involving unruly passengers this year, the AP reported. Almost three-quarters of those — more than 3,600 — involved passengers who refused to wear face masks, a condition required to fly by federal regulation.
Notable incidents have received national attention, including a 20-year-old California man who was charged with punching an American Airlines flight attendant in the face. Her injuries required medical treatment at a hospital. The alleged assailant faces two federal charges.
Conviction of interfering with a flight crew members can carry some serious punitive repercussions, including 20 years in prison.
In one of the ads, Deborah Johnson, a tariff agent for a major airline and CWA member, says: “A lot of the agents are sharing with me the hostility that the passengers have for them for having to hold so long. I'm someone's wife, I'm someone's mother, I'm someone's daughter, I'm someone's sister, I'm a human being. And all I wish is that you treat me with respect.”
Here are the other two videos, titled "Thank You," and "Post-Pandemic Issues."