Pandemic-fuelled rise in passenger misbehaviour taking toll on flight attendants

Passenger disobedience, rudeness and aggressive behaviour is on the rise and directly impacting the health and well-being of airline employees, according to unions representing flight attendants at the country's major airlines.

"Our people go to work and they anticipate having altercations with our guests on board," said Chris Rauenbusch, an active cabin crew employee with Calgary-based WestJet Airlines Ltd. and president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 4070.

"Some people have mental health conditions and need to take leaves due to these circumstances. It's not what we signed up for as flight attendants, but it's unfortunately become our new reality."

While reports of increasingly disruptive behaviour in recent months on American flights have prompted calls for U.S. lawmakers to crack down on the problem, data suggests the problem is escalating in Canada as well. Flight attendants say many of the problems stem from passengers who refuse to obey the federal requirement to wear a face mask on board.

"Every time you approach someone you have in your mind that this could be stage one of a seriously escalating situation," said Troy Winters, senior officer for health and safety with CUPE National. The union represents more than 15,000 flight attendants at nine different Canadian airlines, including WestJet, Air Canada and Transat.

"It's not as bad as it is in the States, there's not as much serious violence, but we certainly do have folks who are overly belligerent."

According to Transport Canada, incidences of passenger non-compliance with the mask mandate spiked over the summer. Airlines reported 330 passengers to the regulator for refusing to wear a mask during July and August, more than twice the number of incidents reported in April and May.