In-Flight Emergency
4 things to remember that will prepare you for anything!
Whether you are a Cabin Crew member, or a passenger, if you remember to follow these steps, you will be prepared for anything!
1. Keep calm
If you are Crew, REMEMBER YOUR TRAINING!
Your passengers and your colleagues are looking to you to be calm, professional and reassuring. No matter what is happening on the inside, your demeanour should always exude professionalism.
If you are a passenger during a Mid Flight Emergency, please try and remain as calm as possible and follow all instructions so your rigorously trained crew can do their job!
2. Follow All Instructions from Crew
Your Cabin Crew have been trained in dealing with every situation possible.
They too will be stressed, nervous and need to concentrate on using their knowledge to the best of their abilities.
If your crew says sit down, they mean it! They are giving you instruction for both your safety, the safety of your fellow passengers, and themselves.
3. Watch the Safety Video/Demo
Whilst sometimes boring and arduous, watching (and actually paying attention to) the safety video is a must.
During a recent decompression that I experienced, passengers screamed, fainted, got out of their seats and donned their oxygen masks incorrectly, directly disobeying instructions from the Cabin Crew and the Pilots.
It is to your detriment that you not only watch the videos, but listen to the instructions given to you at any time- the crew will be privy to information that you may not know yet, or will never be told. This could be due to lack of time or the proper channels of communication. Whatever the case may be, sit back, relax, fasten your seatbelt and pay attention. It could be the difference between life and death.
If you are Cabin Crew, you will already well versed in memorising and going over emergency procedures during every taxi, take-off and landing.
4. Be a Nice Person
During a recent inflight emergency, I was neither an operating Crew member, nor even Cabin Crew at all.
Years of training came flooding back to me, and I started giving my fellow passengers a simple “thumbs up” to see if they were in fact, alright, given that the oxygen masks had deployed and everyone was in a state of panic.
Once order and calm had been restored, I started offering everyone around me mints. This was to distract me, to show them I cared and also to make them feel better, too. I think it worked! You don’t need grand gestures, just little reminders of human kindness.
A little goes a long way in the skies!
