Insufficient controls: A little snooze on the plane? Warning: we might forget you!

Cases of passengers forgotten on a plane are increasing, warns a flight attendants union. Insufficient checks after landing are a safety risk.

In June 2019, one made headlines: a woman woke up alone in the middle of the night on an empty plane on the tarmac at Toronto airport. What appears to be a rare and isolated case is apparently a recurring problem in aviation. An American flight attendants union is now sounding the alarm.

The woman had fallen asleep on a flight from Quebec to Toronto and was simply not noticed. After landing, the crew left the plane without noticing her. With an empty cell phone battery and in complete darkness, the passenger sought help. She eventually found a flashlight, opened a door of the plane and attracted the attention of a ramp employee with light signals.

Increasingly frequent cases

Such incidents are not uncommon according to the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), American Airlines’ flight attendant union. The APFA recently published a memo that draws attention to the risks of such situations. Leaving a passenger on board not only constitutes a significant breach of safety, but may also violate the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR), the regulatory framework for American aviation.

Insufficient cabin checks after landing are the main reason for such incidents, according to the APFA. Toilets and hard-to-see seating areas in particular should be checked thoroughly. The memo instructs cabin crew to ensure that no passengers are sleeping in the seats or on the ground.

“This final check is of capital importance so as not to leave anyone behind and not risk violating the FAR,” we can read.

Responsibility of the entire crew

The union emphasizes that responsibility for subsequent monitoring should not rest with one person.

On the contrary, he believes that the entire cabin crew must work together to ensure that all passengers have left the plane. The purser, that is, the person who directs the crew, should carry out a final inspection.

The writer wrote this article using AI.