But for many of them, they had to set aside their fears, sadness and uncertainty to carry on with their job of caring for the passengers on board their respective flights.
A crew member with more than 20 years flying experience, departing for a European destination on the day the Beijing-bound MH370 disappeared said: “We carried on with our work as usual, although some of our fellow crew members broke down and cried in the galley.”
“After we landed and check-into the hotel, the head crew or purser got us together and asked us to observe a moment of silence. He told the Muslim crew to “sembahyang hajat” (special prayer) and the rest of us to pray in our own way for the flight and all those on board. Every one of us was crying at that point,” she said.
Most of us knew the crew and supervisors on that flight. “The supervisors on flight MH370 were seniors we would usually look forward to flying with, especially if it was a long haul one. Having them lead the cabin crew would mean a pleasant working environment for us. This is all the more reason why this incident has affected all of us and our MAS family.”
She said in her twenty over years of flying, the thought of a flight crashing or mishap is one that is always at the back of her mind.
“Every time I walk out of the door for a flight, I am fully aware of the risk of not returning home and that is why I make sure that everything is in order, my house is spick and span, my bills paid and everything done so that my next of kin are not left to clean up a mess,” she said adding that the fear is one that is real as there have also been crew who have fallen ill, suffered from stroke and even hit by a bus while overseas.
“Truth be told, we have all the confidence in our aircrafts and their airworthiness. I have never worried about that aspect of my job, but the main concern for me and most of my colleagues now, especially in view of recent events, are the security aspects involved,” she said.
“If anything, the incident involving the missing plane shows gaping loopholes in our airport security and the country’s defence system which allowed two passengers travelling on fake passports to board the flight, and the lack of reaction to a plane changing its flight path as viewed on the military radar.
“This is now the main concern among crew - their safety on flights.
“There is something seriously wrong with what our officials term as their Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) if it allowed the security breaches we have seen.
“The security in our airport has always been less stringent than some other countries, and I think Malaysians have been somewhat complacent. We have always been a peaceful country, without much incidents or reasons to be fearful. It is unthinkable that our airline would ever be a target for hijacking or acts of terrorism, but we need to re-evaluate this, because complacency is all it takes for one grave mistake to be made.”
In the midst of all this, there are those who find it fit to kick those affected when they are down; chiding, insulting and labelling cabin crew as nothing more than glorified waiters and waitresses who would not be able to handle emergencies.
There is an apparent ignorance and little regard for their gruelling months of training and annual refresher courses on safety procedures, evacuation training, how to handle emergencies like decompression or turbulence on board, medical emergencies and security threats that may occur during a flight.
One cabin crew was insulted by an old man as she waited for her pick-up last week. Others have had to put up with unsavoury comments on Facebook and other social media including ridiculous reasoning that the incident involving the missing MH370 was a divine punishment for their “sexy” uniforms and because the airline served alcohol on their flights.
I think God in whatever form, is above such petty man-made reasoning. Those who are holier than thou should worry about fixing their own prejudices and uncouth and hurtful comments towards others, especially in a time like this, instead of imposing their shallow thoughts, personal beliefs and unreasonable opinions on those affected by the tragedy.
The crew member I spoke to said she had personally not been on the receiving end of such comments, although some of her colleagues have.
“Generally, people I met have been quite sympathetic and genuinely concerned over our welfare,” she said adding that there were also volunteers from Mercy Malaysia on standby at the crew movement centre to talk to crew who may need counselling.
“There are also posters with numbers of doctors or psychologists that we can call to speak to,” she said adding the airline also keeps the staff updated regularly on any developments on the missing plane.
“I’m aware about the rude comments posted about flight crew and frankly most of us don’t know how to feel now. Do we get angry? Do we mourn? Do we hope? Will our security concerns be addresses? Will there be a closure to this episode? We don’t know. But life has to go on and all we can do is to support each other and carry on with our task of giving our best to our passengers.”
Source: Maria J Dass, FZ
No comments:
Post a Comment