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Galley Gossip: Swine flu on the airplane (a few things you can do)

by Heather Poole (RSS feed) on Apr 29th 2009 at 9:30AM

Today I'm flying from Los Angeles to New York to start my reserve rotation for May. I'm bringing my son along with me. He's two. Because my husband travels on business often and I'll be on-call, my son will be spending eight days with grandma and grandpa. Oh sure I'll take the train out to see him in-between trips. That's not the problem. The problem is with all this talk about swine flu, I can't help but be a little nervous, not for me, but for him!

We'll be traveling by plane and in New York where 75 people in Queens were recently diagnosed with the disease. Did I happen to mention my crashpad is in Queens? I'll have zero control over where I'm going and how long I'll be there. When I voiced my concerns, here's what a few of my friends had to say...

"Heather, I think there's a Mexico City layover with your name all over it! Hee, hee!"
"Don't think you have to go to Mexico, Mexico will come to you. Start a new trend, nothing is hotter than a flight attendant with a Michael Jackson mask on! If you rock the body condom from the movie Naked Gun, I want to be there!"
"Every time I wake up in the MEX layover hotel I breathe a sigh of relief that I wasn't crushed in an earthquake overnight. Now if I can just not breathe while down there . . .
"The only other thing you need besides a diagnosis is a company that's not completely irrational and predatory about sick leave use. The company has denied me sick time, garnished pay for the days missed, and said to the union, "grieve it," which is a years-long process."

So what am I, the flight attendant, required to do if I see a passenger who may be exhibiting swine flu like symptoms?

Isolate the person as much as possible.
Contact the airline physician on-call. What I would actually do is call the cockpit who would then contact the ground who would then pass along important information.
The airline I work for is providing extra gloves and thermometers for flight crews to use, as well as masks for passengers who may be infected.

Please note: As of April 26 there have only been mild cases of swine flu reported in the United States and most people have made a full recovery.

As of today, Argentina and Japan are the only two countries I'm aware of that are taking action. If you are flying into Argentina, all passengers and crew will be required to fill out a form that ground personnel will be distributing in order to enter the country. If you are traveling into Japan, all passengers and crew will be quarantined. That means passengers and crew will be required to remain on board the aircraft until Japanese health officials come on board and clear the flight.

Remember that post I wrote not too long ago about the sick passenger who didn't ask for much (just my next unborn child), well if I had her on board a flight today I'd definitely wonder if she had the flu - as well as whether or not she was crazy. Honestly, I have no problem helping sick passengers, but at the same time I really don't want to get sick and bring whatever it is they may have (or may not have) home to my son. Remember, he's two! So what am I going to do (that you can do, too) in order to make sure this doesn't happen?

Wash hands often with soap and water (I'll be packing travel size antibacterial hand lotion)
Cover mouth when coughing or sneezing (use the inside of your elbow, not your hand)
Report anyone who may appear sick. Passengers can report to a flight attendant who will then pass along the information to the correct authorities.

Peter Greenberg, the travel detective, doesn't seem to be all that concerned. Yesterday he wrote on Twitter.com..

Remember SARS? I traveled at that time to Hong Kong -- when hotel occupancies were around 3%. Had one of the best travel experiences ever. And how about the avian flu? About the only people infected (and there were incredibly few) were those who actually worked on chicken farms."

I have to admit that Peter actually made me feel a little better about flying. Even so, I did what every flight attendant has probably already done, I went online and plugged the words SWINE FLU and FLIGHT ATTENDANT into the search engine. Just to see if anyone had it. So far so good. No one has it. Thank god! Here's some other interesting information I found online concerning flight attendants, passengers, and the swine flu...

USA TODAY wrote... the USA's largest flight attendant union, says it is directing members to keep an eye out for flu-like symptoms, especially on trips to Mexico. "We're also pushing airlines to supply gloves and masks." If a flight attendant observes a passenger with flu-like symptoms, the procedure is to isolate that person as much as possible, Caldwell says. So far, the travel industry is trying to accommodate travelers' fears. Nearly every U.S. airline with routes to Mexico is waiving cancellation fees or rebooking flights.

Barcelonareporter.com wrote..The union STAVLA, a union that fights for the rights of flight attendants has condemned the airline for not allowing attendants to wear gloves to protect themselves against possible Swine flu infection. A source within the union said it had reiterated a request first made in 2003 for flight attendants to wear gloves when handling biological waste that is generated aboard, this request was put to the Health and Safety Committee and denied.

STAVLA, which has announced that it may take legal action against Iberia, has stated that each flight attendant assigned to the overseas fleet is in contact with about 33,000 passengers a year and has stressed that flights go "several times a day to Mexico." The union said that after a circular sent to employees yesterday Iberia said " it only allows the use of gloves by the flight attendant serving a passenger who, in his opinion, is affected by the infection."

The union representatives of flight attendants recalled that the Regional Institute of Occupational Safety and Health at Work (IRSST) in Madrid has admitted that biowaste requires protective gloves, but "Iberia the practice remains prohibited for reasons of image" .

THE DAILYRECORD.COM wrote...

Q: What can flight attendants and gate agents do?

A: At the airport, gate agents can notify CDC officials at the airport to check waiting passengers who exhibit flulike symptoms. On board, flight attendants are authorized to isolate a sick traveler from the rest of the passengers if possible. Flight attendants also are authorized to dispense face masks to passengers who exhibit flu symptoms.

Have you booked a trip to Mexico and can't decide what what to do - whether you should stay or go? And if you do decide to stay home, how do you get a refund? Click here for answers

Photos courtesy of (passenger) Wendy Tanner, (flight attendant) Aaron Escobar, (hands) Cafemama - Flickr.com

Filed under: North America, South America, Japan, Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Galley Gossip

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

LawyerChick Apr 29th 2009 12:11PM

My mom and my sister have been there on vacation (Cancun area) since before the story broke. I myself just got back a week ago. It'll be interesting to see what if anything is different when they try to come back to the US.

A friend who came back on Sunday when the story about the girls in Queens was just breaking, said she saw 1 FA wearing a mask but nothing else unusual.

Seriously, though, what are you (the FAs) supposed to do? Those guidelines are no help at all! How do you "isolate" coach pax on a full flight? And even before that, how do you identify "swine flu like symptoms"? Aren't they just the same as "flu-like symptoms"?

Good luck with all that.

LC, got nothin' but mild allergies here.
(cough, cough)

Traytable Apr 29th 2009 12:25PM

Interesting that the regular flu kills thousands each year, but we're not all panicking over that.

Malaycobra Apr 29th 2009 5:45PM

Absolutely! Another case of media fear-mongering for ratings.

I read that 16,000 people have died in the US so far this year, with 36,000 expected to pop off over a year. World-wide it seems between 250,000 to 500,000 will succumb to regular flu.

That 16,000 is more than 5 times the 9/11 toll and 3 times the Iraq death toll.

Why is that not news? and why is no-one doing anything about it.

That body-length condom is starting to look mighty attractive...

Amelia Apr 29th 2009 12:56PM

Could you provide the source for this information, ". If you are traveling into Japan, all passengers and crew will be quarantined. That means passengers and crew will be required to remain on board the aircraft until Japanese health officials come on board and clear the flight."

All I can find about Japan & swine flu is that the country is taking extra precautions with flights from mexico & california. I am planning to fly out to Tokyo in 2 weeks from DTW and am hoping that our trip is not held up when we arrive into the country.

Cassandra Apr 29th 2009 5:53PM

The CDC has a good post on their website about all the "Top 20 Questions" about this new flu. It's a good read.

I'd go to it & check it out. Wasn't sure if the entire thing would post here or not.

frank96 Apr 29th 2009 7:44PM

I had a layover in Toronto, back in 2003 when they had the SARS incident. Upon deplaning and walking into the immigrations and customs area, it becomes reality. All the agents were wearing masks and gloves as each person was cleared into Canada. I didnt leave my hotel room on that layover. And, the next day coming back into New York, I had someone enter the galley and pass out on the floor. Her husband was standing there while I yelled, "check her breathing."
He put his finger up to her nose. I thought, that's not right, but, I was alittle apprehensive to check her airway/breathing, myself. I lifted the phone and PA'ed the flight attendants up front, "CALL PARAMEDICS". As a precaution, the paramedics adviced the couple to go to the hospital. They agreed.

That was SIX years ago. Now we have another outbreak, Swine flu that can cause death.

I'm feeling pretty beat up by the media. Terror attacks, bankruptcy, paycuts, furloughs, capacity cuts, fuel costs, quarterly result losses and now, pandemics.

..................and I still smile in my uniform. And, keep YOUR SAFETY in mind.

Fly safe EVERYONE.

DJ Apr 30th 2009 3:49AM

This is a such hype. How many people die every year of the FLU? Just because this one has a "name" i.e. "swine", people are freaking out. I have no doubt there have been a multitude of sick people on many of your flights with far worse than flu. Wow, you are still alive! All this is is a wakeup call for the day a real pathogen gets released and is carried all over the world at warp speed. I'm talking something like ebola, etc.
You can be sure the bad guys are soaking all this swine stuff up and having an "a-ha moment". THAT'S what you should really be worried about..not a flu that is barely making people sick outside of Mexico! Just use the same precautions you use every time you are on the job.