Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Journal of Steffanie Rivers: Airline Travel Is A Privilege – Not A Right!

Steffanie Rivers
Steffanie Rivers

*There have been three altercations in less than two weeks involving passengers on board commercial airplanes.

There’s video of each instance. None of the videos show the incidents from start to finish, but there’s enough video for anybody who views them to come to their own assumptions about what really happened.

Therein lies the problem: A group of people can look at the same video or witness the same incident and come to different conclusions about who was at fault, why those involved reacted the way they did and how the negative behavior could have been avoided.

I won’t go as far as to conclude the perceived victims – the people left crying, bloodied or on the receiving end of a verbal or physical attack – must have done something to deserve the treatment they got, because then I would sound like some white people who believe some of the black men who are gunned down by police officers ‘must have done something’ to provoke their demise. We know that’s bullshit!

Yet when it comes to public transportation, which is what airline travel is, there are rules of use that must be observed. The first rule is: Airline travel is a privilege – not a right! That means some of your rights as a citizen could be reduced in the interest of the operation and for the safety of all involved. Therefore if what you say, do or how you treat others is perceived to be questionable at best and dangerous at worst, it probably won’t be tolerated. For the passenger in question that could mean a monetary fine, a criminal arrest or – worse case scenario – you get physically removed from the airplane because you didn’t comply with more than one request to vacate, even if you’re a paying customer. It should not have come to that, but again, it’s a privilege not a right!

It’s interesting to see how many people were outraged at the treatment of David Dao, the man who was dragged off his United Airlines flight by airport security after seeing that video. But some of those same people think police on the side of the road somehow are justified when they shoot a black man down with little to no provocation even when there’s video to the contrary. Both incidents are examples of people in authority overstepping the boundaries of civility when it wasn’t warranted. But for some reason a black man on the street doesn’t get the same consideration.

Even so, this trend of passengers confronting airline personnel is disturbing:

https://www.insideedition.com/headlines/22921-watch-angry-passenger-shove-pilot-in-airport-confrontation

As a flight attendant I try to treat every passenger with a certain level of respect regardless of whether you’re a recognized celebrity seated in first class or somebody I’ll probably never see again seated in the last row of the aircraft. Unfortunately not everyone approaches every situation with the same level of home training and respect for others. When you’re flying at 30,000 feet in a metal tube for an extended amount of time that’s bound to create problems.

To be clear, a flight crew member is my job. It’s not who I am. Don’t mistake my professional demeanor as a weakness. In the words of Faizon Love, ‘You don’t have to respect me, just don’t disrespect me.’

Steffanie is a flight attendant and freelance journalist living in the Dallas, Texas metroplex. Her recent publication ‘The Do’s and Don’ts Of Flying: A Flight Attendant’s Guide To Airline Travel Secrets’ is on sale now at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and other retail outlets. Email her at [email protected] for comments, questions or speaking inquiries.

 

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