Help End the Carry-On Crunch!
The Flight Safety Foundation has published an article on AFA-CWA's recent passenger carry-on items survey, "Bin There Done That," in the May 2010 issue of AeroSafety World magazine. The article is an excellent summary of the survey results and includes numerous AFA-CWA members' quotes describing the many hazards of the Carry-On Crunch. You can find links to all articles in the current issue here, and a link to the carry-ons article pdf is here.
Carry-On Baggage Endangers Crew
and Passengers, Flight Attendants Say
AFA-CWA Launches Public Campaign to End Carry-On Crunch
Washington, DC, March 15, 2010 - The Association of Flight
Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) today released the results of a recent
membership survey in which one out of two flight attendants
witnessed carry-on items falling from overhead bins in the previous
60 days. The survey validated anecdotal reports that carry-on
baggage is out of control, mostly due to recent fees to check
luggage.
"We now have compelling evidence that flight attendants and
passengers are being injured by excess amounts of oversized carry-on
items," said Patricia Friend, AFA-CWA International President. "AFA-CWA
has been urging Congress, government agencies, and carriers to
establish reasonable carry-on limitations that will improve the
overall safety, health and security of crew and passengers inside
the aircraft cabin. These limits will reduce injuries and
distractions caused by carry-ons and allow flight attendants to
devote more attention to the critical task of ensuring the safest
and most secure flight possible."
According to the survey, over 80 percent of flight attendants sustained injuries over the past year due to dealing with carry-ons in overhead bins. The most common injury being strained and pulled muscles in the neck, arms and upper back. The survey was compiled from a representative sample of the 50,000 AFA-CWA members at 22 U.S. airlines. Full Press Release>>
Restore cabin safety and security.
Are you tired of the
chaos and confusion that have come to define boarding and deplaning
an aircraft?
Do you worry that someone’s excessively heavy carry-on bag might
fall from an overstuffed overhead bin and injure you or another
passenger?
Worse yet, are you concerned that too much carry-on baggage in the
cabin could impede an emergency evacuation from the aircraft?
Are you concerned that carry-on confusion makes it difficult for
flight attendants to maintain the high levels of situational
awareness required in a post-9-11 environment?
There is something you can do.
A bill is now before Congress that would establish enforceable
carry-on baggage limits. To pass this long-overdue legislation, the
flying public and anyone interested in safe airline travel need to
tell our elected officials in Washington, DC, to support HR 2870,
the Securing Cabin Baggage Act.
HR 2870 would create a concise, uniform and enforceable standard to
limit the size and number of bags being brought into the aircraft
cabin. The bill would civilize the aircraft cabin experience for all
passengers and crew while reducing flight delays and missed flight
connections, and most importantly, ensure the security and safety of
the aircraft cabin.
Click here to tell your elected representatives to support carry-on
bag limits!
AFA reported in 1996 that as many as 4,500
passengers and 3,600 flight attendants a year are injured by falling
carry-on bags.
Carry-on bags are one of the leading causes of on-the-job injury to
flight attendants.