Some two months after first airing concerns over what it called insufficient training of flight attendants for cabin security searches, the Association of Flight Attendants last month intensified its crusade to sway public opinion against six regional airlines it accused of skirting new security mandates. The AFA named Air Wisconsin, PSA, Piedmont, Allegheny, Atlantic Southeast and Atlantic Coast Airlines as the primary culprits. Another airline on the AFA’s original list–Seattle-based Horizon Air–has begun to address the union’s concerns, according to the AFA’s Dawn Deeks.
The controversy began after a number of flight attendants complained about the lack of time and direction given by their employers to conduct cabin searches mandated by the FAA after September 11. While major airlines use specially trained personnel to search cabins for weapons or other suspicious contraband, in the interest of cost efficiency regional airlines typically require their cabin crews to conduct the searches. The AFA wants those regional airlines to hire dedicated cabin searchers or at least provide special training and extra compensation for the extra time it thinks FAs need to conduct the searches.
