This year for International Flight Attendant Day we want to celebrate the work and contributions of all Flight Attendants across the globe and here at home. There are few professions that require a combination of commitment to safety, organised emergency responses, medical incidents, disruptive passengers, security, and customer service. Not to mention, you have added toxic fume events, sexual harassment, assaults, and contagious disease response to the mix. These duties are diligently performed with no ability to consult with anyone other than your colleagues in the air.
Working as a Flight Attendant has transformed over the years, the job that once was considered glamorous has now become an exercise in diplomacy and equal parts strength, independent thinking, and tenacity. At no time have those duties become more onerous than during the COVID-19 crisis. In addition to performing your work, you are the ones who bore the realities of this pandemic up close. There was also the very real fact that some of our colleagues had to stay at home to care for family members who were vulnerable or were laid off due to the precipitous drop in commercial flying. The economic strain was long and created duress for many.
Each one of our members is unique, diverse and possesses a litany of invaluable skills. Your strength, talents and courage are an asset to all. We honour and support you. We hope that when you reflect on this past year that you take time to appreciate and value all that you have borne and soldiered through.
We would like to recognise this day and to honour our many members and colleagues by providing a stylus pen with our contact email address on it that you can pick up at your Local office. We look forward to hearing from you and wish you the very best on International Flight Attendant Day 2022.
In solidarity,
