Flight attendants of American Airlines take up Aviation Safety Action Program

American Airlines, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, the United States, has partnered with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to launch the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP).

Lauri Curtis, vice-president (onboard service) of American Airlines, said in a statement that the joint safety programme has been “designed to open the channels of communication so that flight attendants would feel comfortable reporting safety-related incidents or information.”

The airline said the ASAP was aimed at encouraging flight attendants to report safety-related information to help identify potential factors in safety incidents. American Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of the AMR Corporation, clarified that flight attendants who file reports through the Aviation Safety Action Program would be able to do so voluntarily and confidentially.

Also, the ASAP would make it easier for flight attendants to report safety concerns without the fear of reprisal – which means that reports from flight attendants cannot be used to initiate or support any disciplinary action that might be initiated by the US Federal Aviation Administration or American Airlines.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the agency of the United States Department of Transportation having authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the US.

With 18,000 flight attendants involved, the ASAP being conducted by American Airlines is the largest of its kind in the world, the statement said.

“Our flight attendants,” Lauri Curtis stressed, “have made a huge commitment to supporting safety at American Airlines, and safety is one of our top priorities.” The airline, Curtis added, initiated the programme with the best flight attendants in the industry “to help us remain one of the safest airlines.”
A programme similar to the ASAP and involving American Airlines’ pilots had failed in 2008 when the pilots union and the company could not settle differences between them over protecting jobs. The pilots also had charged American Airlines with “abusing the safety programme” by disciplining captains for even inadvertent safety lapses.

Laura Glading, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, told the media that, “as the aviation industry’s front-line safety professionals, flight attendants play a key role in keeping and improving all areas of cabin safety. She said the members of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants were keen on working with American Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration in the cause of aviation safety.