About This Career

Monitors safety of the aircraft cabin. Provides services to airline passengers, explains safety information, serves food and beverages, and responds to emergency incidents.

This career is part of the Transportation, Distribution and Logistics cluster Transportation Operations pathway.

A person in this career:

• Verifies that first aid kits and other emergency equipment, including fire extinguishers and oxygen bottles, are in working order.
• Announces and demonstrates safety and emergency procedures, such as the use of oxygen masks, seat belts, and life jackets.
• Monitors passenger behavior to identify threats to the safety of the crew and other passengers.
• Walks aisles of planes to verify that passengers have complied with federal regulations prior to takeoffs and landings.
• Directs and assists passengers in emergency procedures, such as evacuating a plane following an emergency landing.
• Prepares passengers and aircraft for landing, following procedures.
• Administers first aid to passengers in distress.
• Determines special assistance needs of passengers, such as small children, the elderly, or persons with disabilities.
• Attends preflight briefings concerning weather, altitudes, routes, emergency procedures, crew coordination, lengths of flights, food and beverage services offered, and numbers of passengers.
• Reassures passengers when situations, such as turbulence, are encountered.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 20 lbs., sometimes up to 50 lbs. You might do a lot of lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling.
• Work in this occupation involves bending or twisting your body more than one-third of the time
• Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
• Requires getting into awkward positions
• Exposed to disease and infections more than once a month through work such as patient care, laboratory work, and sanitation control
• Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
• Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
• Exposed to radiation more than once a month
• Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation involves walking or running more than one-third of the time
• Work at heights above 8 feet more than once a month on structures such as ladders, poles, scaffolding, and catwalks

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Picking out a particular sound in the presence of other sounds
• Maintaining a body position that prevents falling when in an unstable position
• Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching
• Seeing clearly at a distance
• Seeing clearly up close
• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person
• Using abdominal and lower back muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring

Work Hours and Travel

• Irregular hours
• Overnight travel
• Weekend work