By Megha Singhania, Head – Cabin Crew Department, AirAsia India
2020 brought with it unforeseen challenges that the airline industry has never witnessed in the past. With a crew force of around 700 plus and an age profile of 18-25 on average, covid restrictions on travel, constrained their chances to meet their family. Peer support was provided to ensure the crew did not feel isolated during lockdown. It seems only natural that, in the frame of the uncertain Covid-19 economy, crew members were worried about job security. To ensure the crew’s mental health, regular conversations and video calls were held. As the crew is always prepared for unplanned emergencies, we took it as a challenge and with the support of our leadership and the management, we sailed through the tough times.
Even though the pandemic fear persisted, the crew force maintained a resilient attitude, immediately refreshed their knowledge and skills, and made sure that flying operations resumed not only smoothly but also with a robust implementation of health and hygiene procedures on board for all the passengers and crew.
During the pandemic, the crew fought against all odds and adversities while prioritizing the safety and comfort of our guests and continued extending our line of work to build greater trust. Even during the lockdown, while the fear of the pandemic was at its peak, our crew went above and beyond to ensure that critical supplies managed to reach their destinations which had the potential to effectively mitigate the effects of the pandemic.
Being in a profession that requires interactions with numerous guests at any given time, the priority was to ensure that our crew were well protected from the covid infections. The crew were given priority to get vaccinated and with the help of the government and camps organized by airports and TATA, the crew were fully vaccinated to aid in their and their family’s protection. Other initiatives were to ensure proper sanitation of cockpits and cabins before each flight; maintain adequate ventilation during the flight; make passengers aware of air filtration systems (HEPA filters) on board the aircraft to comfort them; and regularly review Covid passenger management with cabin crew.
Covid and regulatory restrictions brought innumerable travel challenges for both guests and crew, which necessitated them to rapidly adapt to the changing environment. Airlines adapted quickly and strict travel protocols were formalized and adhered to. The airline took numerous precautions, including RT-PCR tests, PPE gowns, masks, and frequent sanitization, as well as face shields and staggered boarding and deplaning. Staggered boarding and Row wise deplaning were emphasized to ensure social distancing was maintained.
The crew ensured that the guest interaction may be limited but the guest connection should not be. Delighting guests by providing clean and sanitized aircraft and clean lavatories were of prime concern. After all, the aircraft is our office and on-board guests are the reason we are there.
