Stop blaming crew members for flight delays, says union

 

Videos of passengers expressing anger at airline crew members over flight delays have gone viral on social media lately. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: The National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) has urged passengers to stop pointing fingers at airline crew members because of the recent disruptions in flight schedules.

In a statement, the union highlighted the numerous videos, which had gone viral on social media, showing passengers blaming and scolding airline crew members.

According to the union, there were times when staff were not told by management the reasons for the flight delays.

“Workers should not be blamed because they, just like the passengers, are unaware of the actual situation and will follow directions that are given to them by the airline management,” said Nufam.

“It really goes down to the initial planning by the airlines and the government.”

Nufam added that the parties responsible for maintaining flight schedules should be transparent about the problems that they faced.

Although the shortage of staff was one of the causes for the delays, Nufam added that technical problems and weather conditions should also be taken into account.

AirAsia recently came under fire from the government and the public over several flight disruptions.

AirAsia Malaysia chief executive officer Riad Asmat explained that among the factors which contributed to the rescheduling of flights during the festive season were the sharp rise in demand for domestic flights and the reopening of the country’s borders since April 1. - FMT