On Monday morning, when I entered the safety room at the SAT (SWISS Aviation Training Center) after my trial flight, I was overjoyed to see my classmates again. Also our instructor welcomed us full of motivation and energy. I had a good feeling.
But before I get into too much detail, I would like briefly to present our training schedule, which was completely reorganised in 2015. The first three weeks are dedicated to safety, security, CRM (crew resource management), and medical training, specialising in the Airbus A319, A320, and A321. This is followed by the product, service, and appearance parts. Then we have two weeks of short-haul routes to practise what we have learned. After this part, we are allowed to go back to school again for a week, when we are retrained for our long-haul flights on the Airbus A330 and A340, followed by two introductions on the long-haul route. That doesn’t sound so bad, but it’s a really tight schedule nonetheless.
As I said, I had a very good feeling. Only when I looked at the room more closely did my heart start beating a little faster. Hanging all over the walls were pictures of plane accidents, something you honestly prefer not to reflect on as a prospective flight attendant. Nevertheless: it is part of our training to deal with situations like these if we are to learn from the mistakes of the past. So, get a grip on yourself, and welcome to the safety and security part of training.
The aviation industry in detail
We all had our textbook in front of us and went through it step by step with our instructor. We learned how the aviation industry works, which authorities monitor air travel, and who sets down the regulations. And we studied the various types, like the Airbus A320 family, the A330, the A340, and the differences between them. What material is stowed where, and what passengers may take with them when being evacuated. The training also focused on turbulence. Did you know that there are different types of turbulence? Or how they come about, and how we can best protect ourselves against them? No? I didn’t either.
The different types of turbulence are as follows:
Light turbulence: Brief, slight changes in altitude or attitude. Unsecured objects may shift slightly.
Moderate turbulence: Changes in altitude and attitude, with variations in airspeed.
Severe turbulence: Large changes in altitude, attitude, and measured airspeed. On-board services are suspended because it’s impossible to walk.
Yet it’s very easy for passengers to protect themselves against turbulence: Simply keep the safety belt on for the whole flight. This not only sounds simple, it is simple.
Fire and water – emergency exercises
Of course, our training also includes learning what so called “decompression” is (loss of pressure in the cabin) and how we can fight fire and smoke in emergencies. This we didn’t learn only from the text book – not on your life! We practised this in an aircraft mock-up, a reconstruction of a plane section, with real respirators – and real fire. Definitely not for the faint hearted!
Our first tricky test was in the SAT “fire house”: Teams of two had to locate the source of the fire and fight this with extinguishers. So what we had learned in theory, we now had to practise as an emergency procedure. A dark, hot room, with smoke everywhere – and a hammering heart. Relieved and proud like a heroine, I came out unscathed: Fire located and extinguished! A unique experience – let’s hope it stays that way.
At the end of the week, we then practised in the opposing element: water. We learned the procedure for setting down on water, or “ditching” in the jargon. At 7:45 am, we were all ready and willing to jump into the cool wetness of the indoor pool. To warm up, we swam four lengths, two of them in overalls that were to simulate clothing. It was then at the latest that I knew how much easier it is to swim in a bathing costume. Afterwards, we practised evacuating passengers to the emergency lifeboats, including shouted commands, and the best way for us to jump from the aircraft into the water. That evening, I could definitely sleep deeply and soundly.
Safety and security – what we learn besides
Our training focuses on evacuation outside of water as well. We went through this countless times in the SAT aircraft mock-ups for each Airbus type. And each and every simulation presented a different situation that we had to adapt to spontaneously. This also included sliding down the emergency chutes. This was child’s play on the smaller planes. But a small test of courage on the A330 and A340, the large long-haul jets.
Of course, communication is hugely important. The CRM part gave us important tips on how to communicate with each other better and, more importantly, how we can avoid the mistakes caused by misunderstandings. For example, it often helps to repeat what you have heard so that you can better remember it and to show your colleagues that you have understood them. These tips are very useful for everyday life as well.
At the end of each training block, there was yet another test. We all passed – perfect paragons, you could say. You see, we’ve learned a lot. Come what may, we are well prepared and always ready to do our best.
We had scarcely put safety and security behind us when we were met with the next challenge: What to do when somebody on board turns ill, when this person has trouble breathing or even a heart attack? We tackled exactly these subjects in the next part of our training. Yet more of this in my next blog article: Medical Case.
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