Flight Procedures

13.1: Flight Procedures

Airlines have standard operating procedures for every eventuality that could arise before take-off, during the ascent, post-landing, and throughout emergency situations.Those procedures will be broken down into three separate elements for operational management.

a.Normal Operational Procedures

b.Abnormal Operational Procedures

c.Emergency Protocols

Normal operational procedures are when the flight is going to plan, with no perceived hazards.

Abnormal operational procedures will be implemented by the pilot in the event of a planned emergency landing, or if rapid deplaning has to be implemented at an airport. The flight crew will have planning time, which means they're able to communicate with the senior cabin crew member about the situation and instruct them on the safety procedures and announcements to be implemented.

Emergency procedures are when the flight crew have no warnings of the hazard the flight is faced with, and that's when unplanned emergency measures will be implemented.

13.2: Normal Operational Procedures

The normal operational procedures begin with the pre-flightbriefing. It's during this briefing that the SCCM will advise all cabin crew of the expected weather conditions, the number of infants flying, and of any passengers with reduced mobility, (PRMs). There will be questions directed to all cabin crew members pertaining to first aid scenarios, handling of dangerous goods or suspect packages on-board the flight, and emergency procedures, which are designed to ensure each cabin crew member is competent prior to boarding the flight.

The cabin crew are the first to board, and that's when all safety and security checks are carried out; before any passengers board the aircraft. Upon boarding, cabin crew will proceed to the approved stowage area to store their personal crewbag securely, and they then proceed to conduct cabin safety checks. Safety checks will involve checking all the emergency equipment, as well as portable trolleys and

galley equipment, to ensure they are working, and to make sure there are no technical problems.

Security checks will also be carried out, checking for any items that shouldn't be on-board the flight. This will include checking the overhead lockers, cupboards, passenger seat pockets, areas where life jackets are stored, the galley, the cabin and the toilets, as well as any secluded areas, ensuring no items have been left behind from the previous flight. Any packages found will need to be logged on the security checklist, and reported to the senior cabin crew member, who will consult with the flight crew and pilot.

13.2a: Boarding Passengers

After the initial flight safety and security checks, the SCCM will announce that the passengers are due to board. At this point, all cabin crew members will take their positions at the crew station allocated to them during the pre-flight briefing. During the boarding process, cabin crew members are responsible for ensuring all passengers have their tickets, before directing them to their seating areas.

It's important to be vigilant during boarding, as you'll need to monitor passenger behaviour for those flying under the influence of alcohol, which may lead them to pose a security risk, as well as keeping an eye out for other suspicious behaviours. One of the aspects you'll be paying close attention to is the seating allocation of passengers nearby emergency exits. These need to be allocated to able bodied passengers (ABP), ensuring that they're fit enough to assist in the event of an emergency.

Any cabin crew member with concerns regarding seating allocations to passengers with reduced mobility must be reported to the senior cabin crew member, who may need to re-seat passengers in the interest of safety. When passengers are boarded, the cabin crew will need to assist them with hand luggage, ensuring all bags are stowed securely in the allocated areas.

When there are children and infants aboard the aircraft, all the appropriate safety equipment will need to be distributed, such as the seat belts for children, or infant cots for emergency use. Once all passengers are boarded, baggage secured, and safety equipment distributed, it's then that the safety briefing will take place, using the PA system.

Following the passenger safety briefing, cabin crew members then proceed to ensure that all passengers have their seat belts fastened correctly, and that any child seat belts are secured. The passenger checks will also include checking that seat positions are not reclined during take off, and making sure that tables, arm rests, foot rests, and overhead storage compartments are all secure and in the right position before take-off.

Checks will also be carried out around the emergency exits to ensure there's clear access. Once all the checks are finished, the cabin crew will take their seats, ready for take-off. Passenger head counts may also be required, depending on airline policy. When a head count is required, all passengers will be asked to remain seated, while cabin crew take a head count of all passengers before closing the aircraft doors.

The passenger head count will be relayed to the SCCM, who will notify the pilot. This is done for both security and safety information, and is required for the pilot maintain accurate loading records of all passengers aboard the aircraft. Should there be any discrepancies on the number of passengers aboard the aircraft, a second head count may be required and that will usually be conducted by the senior cabin crew member. The cabin crew will make the appropriate announcement over the PA to ensure all passengers are in their allocated seat.

13.2b: After Take-off

Once the aircraft is in the air, you must remain seated and ensure passengers do the same until the seat belt signs are switched off, or you receive instructions from the SCCM, to proceed to the galley area and prepare for cabin service.

13.2c: During the Flight Cruise

When the flight is in the air, at a steady altitude with no turbulence, the cabin crew will provide the cabin service.This must be done safely, so all products on the trolley must be secured. During the cabin service, you'll be monitoring the behaviour of passengers for security purposes. When there's turbulence ahead, the SCCM will be advised by the flight crew and during that time the cabin service will be suspended. The cabin crew will make the turbulence announcement over the PA system, instructing passengers to return to their seats and fasten their seat belts.

For longer flights when the flight crew require meals or beverages, the airline security proceduresthat apply to the flight crew door must be followed. Most airlines operate a locked flight door policy, and for any cabin crew member to gain access, an additional crew member may be required to supervise passengers ensuring there's no unauthorised access to the flight deck.

During the course of the flight you'll also be required to monitor the toilets, galley area, flight deck access area and the cabin for any security issues that may arise, and report any security or health concerns of passengers to the senior cabin crew member. The galley area and the flight deck access area are restricted access to crew members only. Cabin crew monitor all the restricted access areas on a flight and make sure that passengers aren't congregating close to any restricted areas.Any suspicions arising from passengers around restricted areas must be reported to the senior cabin crew member in the interest of security.

13.2d: Pre-landing Approach

Approximately 10-20 minutes before arriving at the flight's descentpoint, the flight crew will advise cabin crew around to prepare for landing. During this time, cabin crew will make the pre-landing safety announcement to passengers, and then conduct the same safety checks they employed prior to take-off. Once the passengers and the cabin are secure, the cabin crew will inform the flight crew that all the

necessary checks have taken place, and they will then proceed to their allocated crew station, before fastening their harnesses and seat belts to prepare for landing.

13.2e: Disembarking Passengers

Once the aircraft has landed, the cabin crew will remain in their seats and ensure passengers do the same until the SCCM or flight crew advises otherwise, or turns off the fasten seat belt light. As passengers disembark, the cabin crew will monitor the passenger flow, and assist with anybody who has reduced mobility. Once all passengers are off the plane, a security check will be carried out to ensure there's no baggage left behind.

Any baggage or items left behind will be reported to the senior cabin crew member. Each airline will have its own security protocols for dealing with baggage and any unexpected items left behind. Thiswill be included in your airline training in accordance with the individual airline's safety and security policies.

13.2f: During Turnarounds

The turnaround process will differ depending on the flight.If there's a layover at the destination, it may be the case that the cabin crew only have to conduct their security checks, before proceeding to rest before their next departure. Typically though, during routine flights on regular routes, there's a lot more to a turnaround than a security check.

Once the cabin crew perform their checks and mark off their checklist, some airlines also ask the cabin crew to clean the public areas ready for the next passengers due to board. Although, some larger airports will have their own cleaners or janitorial services to take care of cabin, toilet and galley cleaning, enabling faster turnaround times. This means that cleaning is not always within the

cabin crew member's scope of duty.

In such instances, the cabin crew will carry out security checks, before moving onto the stock inventory, tallying up flight sales, and filling out logs.

13.3: Abnormal and Emergency Operational Procedures

A number of hazardous situations can arise during a flight, and they will require all crew members to take swift action by implementing the appropriate procedures that will ensure maximum safety is achieved for all persons aboard the aircraft. A number of scenarios are covered in the initial airline cabin crew training, and retraining usually takes place on an on-going basis to ensure all cabin crew are competent in the abnormal and emergency operational procedures.

Every emergency situation is different, and there's no way for any airline to train cabin and flight crew staff for every type of emergency situation out there. The best training practices focus on the management of abnormal and emergency procedures all crew members must

know. Everything else, you will learn on the job The aim of the training is to bring the three categories of people on board the flight

together, so they can work in unison to achieve safety.

1. The flight crew

2. The cabin crew

3. The passengers

In emergency situations, everyone must work as a team. The flight crew will communicate with the cabin crew, who then relay information to passengers. In severe emergency situations, all able bodied passengers will be called on to assist with emergency evacuations. The first people called on will be dead-heading passengers. Those passengers are airline staff either flight crew or cabin crew, which are usually permitted to fly free of charge, either to get to their flight departure destination, or while returning from duty. If there are any trained staff flying, they'll be the first people called on to assist in an emergency or abnormal situation.

The passengers that are usually next to be called on are those in the emergency services: firefighters, police officers, paramedics or anyone else who is trained to deal with emergency situations. These passengers, due to their line of work, will have a proven ability to work under pressure in abnormal situations, and will be useful while assisting other passengers in the event of an emergency.

The cabin crew are responsible for selecting passengers to call on in emergency situation, who may then assist with using the emergency exits. The actions of the flight crew, cabin crew, and able bodied passengers influence the number of injuries, and even fatalities, which means knowing each airline's abnormal and emergency procedure protocol is fundamental for the safety of everyone on-board each flight.

The Skills Airlines Require Cabin Crew to Have for This Element of Care

a.Decisive and prompt action, with team collaboration

b.Situation Awareness

c.Excellent judgement

d.Communication

e.Ability to follow instructions

f.Team co-ordination

g.Commit to continual training

All of the above points will apply to the risks that come with working in aviation, and can influence a person's ability to work as part of a team, while coping with any emergency in the most appropriate manner possible.

13.4: The Silent Review

Many airlines incorporate a silent review training element for all their crew members. The purpose of the training is to ensure that all crew members are consistently aware of the emergency situations, and remain aware of potential hazards. Due to the number of duties cabin crew and flight crew have, it's easy to get distracted by the service side of your role, while missing important security or safety aspects.The silent review technique is a proven concept many airlines use, and it helps all crew members respond in rapidly to hazards or potential hazards.

In most cases, the silent review is implement7ed in airline training using acronyms. This is a proven method to increase the retention of information using letters to form a word. Each word is part of the review process, and crew members revise them in line with their care of duty and responsibilities.

One such example would be the O.L.D.A.B.C acronym.

a.Operation of emergency exits

b.Location of each exit door

c.Drills such as the “brace” drill

d.ABPs – ensuring only able bodied passengers are located by emergency exits

e.Brace position – the most common emergency procedure in the event of any planned or

f.unplanned emergency evacuation

g.Commands to use in the event of an emergency

An easier acronym also used is the A.L.E.R.T acronym

a.Aircraft type – different aircrafts have different locations for emergency equipment and exits

b.Location – must know the location of all emergency equipment and exits

c.Equipment – Which equipment to use in the event of an emergency

d.Responsibility – the care of all passengers and be familiar with where any PRMs (passengers with reduced mobility) are seated

e.Threat – Are any passengers acting suspiciously, or any packages looking suspicious

13.5: Passenger Selection for Emergency Assistance

In emergency situations, the cabin crew are responsible for identifying and selecting suitable able bodied passengers (ABPs) to assist during an emergency evacuation. ABPs will assist by opening emergency exits when instructed to do so, and they may also assist other passengers during the evacuation process.

Cabin crew members will select ABPs based on both fitness and mental capabilities, ensuring they are able to assist and can remain calm.

It is for this reason that most airlines will suggest the following criteria is used to identify suitable ABPs to assist in emergency situations:

a.Deadheading cabin crew members aboard the aircraft, or other experienced airline staff

b.travelling as a passenger who all will have the sufficient training to assist.

c.Passengers with a military background as they will also have a proven history to assist in such situations

d.Emergency service personnel, whether police officers, fire-fighters, doctors, paramedics etc.

f.Any other passengers with medical experience

g.Passengers willing to assist and are fit enough to operate emergency doors and can follow the instructions provided by cabin crew.

For each emergency exit, it's recommended that a minimum of 3 ABPs are selected to assist. Each ABP will be seated beside the emergency exit that will be used for a planned evacuation. It is also necessary to explain clearly that the door must not be opened until instructions are given to do so by a crew member, and only in the event that the cabin crew member is injured to the extent they're unable to operate the door. Otherwise, the cabin crew member will operate the emergency exit in accordance with airline emergency procedures.

13.6: Briefing Selected ABPs

In preparation for a planned evacuation, one selected ABP should be briefed on the following aspects:

a.Condition assessment of outside the aircraft, such as identifying if the exit door is safe to operate, and there's no smoke, or flames visible before operating the door

b.How to operate the emergency exit

c.Showing them where to find and operate the manual inflation handle for inflatable slides

d.Safe protection to remain on-board the aircraft, preventing themselves from falling overboard as they must remain at the top of the slide, to assist offloading other passengers safely

e.The commands they should be using to maintain passenger flow safely. The same commands the cabin crew use such as form a single line, jump and slide, and sit and slide

The other 2 ABPs will be briefed on assisting other cabin crew members and the selected ABP allocated the duty of the cabin crew member if they're unable to operate the emergency exit. In essence, the objective is to establish a team of three and allocate a secondary chain of command ensuring everyone knows the safe emergency procedures to follow.

Therefore, the other two selected ABPs will be briefed on the following:

a.Assisting the crew members throughout the evacuation process

b.Assisting with crowd control such as holding passengers back as the emergency door is opened and the slide inflated

c.The assistance to provide other passengers when they reach the bottom of the slide

13.6a: For over-wing emergency exits

Over-wing emergency exits require further ABP briefings on assessing the outside conditions of the aircraft, when and how to operate the emergency exit, how the door is opened, and the commands that will be used if it is necessary to open them. The over-wing exits are secondary emergency exits that are used when the main exit is deemed unusable. Therefore, ABPs at over-wing emergency exits will be briefed on the commands to use, such as follow the arrows, come this way, or run and slide.

If the exit is identified as unusable after a safety assessment, the ABP will be briefed on techniques to use to redirect passengers away from the emergency exit to a safe alternative using the emergency lighting path, or the cabin crew torch lights, pointing the safe exit path from the aircraft. In a planned emergency evacuation, when time permits, the cabin crew will also select an ABP to assist each PRM, which will include the elderly, disabled passengers, families on board, and unaccompanied children, preferably reseating an ABP next to the PRM they're assigned to assist  during the evacuation.

During all ABP briefings, the SCCM will be in communication with the flight deck to be updated on the time they have left for preparations.

The flight crew will advise when all cabin crew must return to their stations for the brace announcement.

13.7: The Brace Announcement

The "BRACE" position is the most important safety procedure that the cabin crew must demonstrate efficiently, as it's the most effective position available to minimize injury on impact.

There are two elements the brace position uses to ensure passenger safety.

1. Prevents the head from hitting any hard surfaces

2. As passengers must lean forward over their legs it minimizes the risk of any severe body injuries

During an unplanned emergency landing, there is usually two types of impact the aircraft experiences: the primary impact, followed by the secondary impact. All passengers must be clear as to what they are, so that they will remain in the BRACE position until the aircraft comes to a complete stop. Each airline may use different brace positions in line with the type of aircrafts they operate, and there will be two types of positions cabin crew are trained on.

1. The main brace position

2. The alternative brace position

The alternative brace position will need to be used by pregnant women as well as passengers travelling with small children. The aircraft will have passenger safety information cards located at each seat, and the cabin crew will use them to demonstrate the brace position, ensuring all passengers know exactly which position to adopt. To do this, the cabin crew will draw passengers' attention to their safety information cards, and refer to the brace position.

Once passengers have their safety cards, the cabin crew will then demonstrate the proper technique to put the body into the brace position. Passengers will then be instructed to assume the position, while cabin crew check they have done so

correctly.

Finally, once all passengers know the position to assume, it will be made clear when to adopt it. This may be on hearing "brace, brace, brace", or "brace for impact", or following similar instructions.. Upon hearing these instructions from either the cabin crew or flight crew, it's the cue to assume the brace position, until the aircraft is completely stationary.

13.8: Locations of Emergency Exits

Following the emergency landing, the aircraft emergency lighting will come on. This will light up the aisle path, and is used by passengers to reach their nearest emergency exit. In the case of a lighting failure, the cabin crew will use their emergency torches to direct passengers to the safest exit.

Module Summary

As much as we would all like to think that we would never face an emergency situation, cabin crew members are quite likely to, at least once during their career. It is for this reason that learning about normal, abnormal, and emergency scenarios is essential. During this module, you learned about all three of these scenarios, and how to handle them.

The information you obtain from this chapter largely focuses on teamwork and how you will contribute and respond to a chain of command. During an interview, there is a high chance that the interviewers will be looking for signs that you can respond appropriately to each eventuality.