Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee Meeting Recap – 1st Quarter 2022

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC)

• Our AFA Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Chairpersons met on Thursday, January 13 to discuss their ongoing program of work to represent Flight Attendants interests related to safety, health, and security in our workplace.
• The Committee also met with management to receive updates and discuss issues and problems that Flight Attendants are facing onboard the aircraft.
• Reporting safety concerns is more important than ever given the challenges we are currently facing as a work group.  Flight Attendant Irregularity Reports (FAIR), Aviation Safety Action Reports (ASAP), and fatigue reports can all be filed through Report It!  Please contact a member of your Local ASHSC if you need assistance.

On Thursday, January 13, our AFA Local Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace.  Representing you at the meeting were Debi Wallstrom (ANC), David Lake (SEA), Blair Kimball (PDX), Brad Young (SFO), Felicia Porter (LAX), and Eva Gatus (SAN).  Also present were MEC ASHSC Chairperson Seth Heiple, MEC ASHSC Vice Chairperson—Air Quality Yvette Satterlee, and MEC Vice President Brian Palmer.  The committee met with Director of Inflight Strategy & Support Gloria Chow, Cabin Safety Manager Cari Smith-Allen, Manager of Inflight Policy & Procedure Joevanni Camacho, and Inflight Experience Program Manager Matthew Coder from management.

Topics of Discussion

The committee reviewed a number of items both during internal AFA-only conversation and when meeting with management.  Some items discussed include:

• Request for increased sanitization of galley areas between flights.
• Concerns with MedLink clearing passengers who appear to be ill.
• Concerns about the perceived lack of sufficient signage in airports regarding mask requirements.
• Overall inadequate communication of mask requirements to passengers.
• Concerns about perceived inadequate lighting outside of new ANC RT facility.
• Concerns about connectivity with change in cell service provider for IMDs.
• Ensuring we have adequate procedures when we do not have the ability to use B2B due to lack of connectivity.
• Requested update to soft blocks on A321 to better protect the B F/A and reminder to CSAs to honor soft seat blocks when possible.
• Request for brighter cabin lighting during compliance checks.
• Ongoing lack of adequate trash stowage space.
• Double vs. single chamber life vest and how to properly demo.
• Airbus assist handle.
• Making COVID testing more readily available.
• “New” boarding positions and challenges with safety and compliance.
• Closing the loop on disruptive passenger and yellow card events by taking company and FAA response and reporting it back to submitter.
• Trend of catering provisioning the entire aircraft from the aft galley only.
• Looking for improvements to the Report It! App.
• Request to add “in an emergency leave everything” to safety demo announcement.
• Need for better guidance in the FAM about when passenger tattoos and clothing should be considered inappropriate and how to handle.
• Requests for improvements to onboard medical equipment, including adding a pulse oximeter, adding a glucometer, and improving sizing of the blood pressure cuff.
• Request for management to provide additional clarification on policies related to lifting and stowing passenger carry-on bags.

What The Committee Is Working On

1. Time in Motion Studies. Working with management and the AFA Inflight Service Committee to assess how long it takes to perform each F/A duty. For example, performing preflight checks or doing a full beverage service on a A320. It is our hope that this information will support changes like providing time for preflight checks prior to boarding and ensuring inflight service is not scheduled unless it can be consistently and safely accomplished on legs like SFO-PSP or ANC-BET.
2. Improving the Uniform Boot Policy. Working with management and the AFA Uniform Committee to allow for a broader range of Arctic boots, to allow Arctic boots in Alaska any time there is snow or ice on the ground, and to allow boots outside of terminals and the aircraft anytime there is inclement weather (policy not yet in effect).
3. COVID-19 Mitigations. The ASHSC stays up to date on the pandemic by reviewing CDC guidance, TSA orders, FAA recommendations etc.; working with the ASHSD (Air Safety Health & Security Department) at AFA International; and coordinating with AFA ASHSC’s at other airlines. This information is used to continually advocate for appropriate COVID-19 mitigations in our work environment.

We Want to Hear From You!

If you’ve experienced a safety-related issue, please help the committee to advocate for improvement and change by filing a report.  Flight Attendant Irregularity Reports (FAIR), Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) reports, and fatigue reports can all be submitted using ReportIt!  If you’re not sure what type of report to file for a particular situation or need help, please don’t hesitate to contact a member of your Local ASHSC.

Do you have other feedback for the committee or items that you’d like brought up with management?  Please let us know!  Your Local ASHSC is your voice to management.  You can find our contact information on the ASHSC page of the AFA Alaska website.