Flight Attendant News

This past May, we wrote about Transport Canada's proposed rule change that would have reduced the number of flight attendants required on a given flight from one for every 40 passengers to one for every 50 passengers. The proposed rule change prompted considerable opposition by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the union that represents most Canadian flight attendants. The union cited safety reasons for its opposition.

Now we learn that the Canadian government has scrapped this plan in favor of retaining the current ratio of one flight attendants for every 40 passengers. From an article in the Toronto Star:

Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon told the Commons yesterday the government would not "table any changes to the flight attendant ratio in the near future."

"The Conservative government, of course, is committed to aviation safety, as everyone knows, and recognizes the important contribution that flight attendants make, particularly with respect to the orderly evacuation of aircraft," Cannon said.

For its part, the CUPE said in a press release:

"Minister Cannon is to be congratulated for rejecting the advice of Transport Canada bureaucrats who have been urging the Minister to adopt an industry sponsored proposal to cut flight attendant staffing levels by up to 25 per cent," said Pamela Sachs, president of the Airline division of CUPE. "It's only common sense that fewer flight attendants means lower safety and more risk for passengers, especially in the post-9/11 era," Sachs said.

Concern about the passenger safety implications of cutting minimum flight attendant requirements has been shared by all political parties in the House of Commons.

"Canada's flight attendants and CUPE's 540,000 members wish to thank all passengers and Parliamentarians in the Bloc Quebecois, the NDP and the Liberal caucuses who have shared our concern and advocated forcefully in support of passenger safety," said Paul Moist, CUPE national president.

Sources: Ottawa won't change flight attendants ratio - Toronto Star
Flight staff ratio to remain at 1 to 40 - CUPE News

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