If you follow me on Instagram you will very well know that finally after over a year I am back at work.
Maybe you didn’t know already but I work for a European airline called easyJet as a flight attendant. I’ve been with the company for a little over 5 years now and I can honestly say I love my job. Granted there can be some long, tiring days with the odd bad passenger but overall most days go smoothly.
The pandemic has hit the aviation and travel industry as a whole really badly and I feel super fortunate to still have a career that I love.
To get back into the skies myself like many others needed to complete a refresher course.
The course takes place over 8 days and covers many topics. The course would be different with social distancing, each person having their own desks, masks worn all day and only 10 to a class.
I travelled from Mallorca to London Gatwick airport for the first 4 days. During this time we covered the current climate of aviation, changes in the company due to covid and many facts and figures. A full day of first aid from burns to cuts to child birth and heart attacks. Due to covid we didn’t practice the recover position anymore and during CPR rather than feel for a person’s breath you would look. God forbid the worst happened.
The next day would follow the first aid exam at 8 o’clock in the morning with 50 questions and a 90% pass mark.
After this we studied the rest of the day the operations of a “normal” day from searching the plane after boarding to saying goodbye to passengers. It was strange how after just a few days it felt like I hadn’t been off at all.
The next day would be spent going over emergency equipment on board the aircraft. All things from the first aid kit and de-fibulator to the fire extinguishers and smoke hoods. Including remembering how many items were on board and where they were stowed.
We had 2 days off in the middle of course flying back to Mallorca it was a valuable time to familiarise myself with the place id soon (hopefully) be spending alot of time.
The second week began with a day covering emergency situations. These including fire, the aircraft ditching into water, emergency landings and much more. All of the situations you hoped would never happen! We also practiced the fire drill which included using an extinguisher.
Next to was practicals. Most of the day was spent inside the simulator. Practicing opening and closing the door, doing cpr on the “Annie” doll which I then discovered had turned into “Brad” a new version that lit up when pumping his chest. We also practiced dealing with a smoke filled cabin. The day was rounded off nicely with a safety exam with 100 questions! There was definitly a glass of wine earnt at the end of this day, back in the hotel.
On the penultimate day we covered two topics. Aviation security (I can’t say much on this subject) as you can imagine. Followed by dangerous goods such as lithium batteries and oxygen bottles as well as items that were not permitted on board the aircraft.
The last day refreshed what to do when operating as a cabin manager or pursur as it may be known in your part of the world.
We were reminded how to conduct a briefing and an overview of how to run the cabin and deal with any problems may occur during the flight.
I’m so excited to get back onto the plane and be welcoming passengers once again to take people on holiday or to important business meetings.
I hope you enjoyed this entry. Does aviation interest you? Would you like more of this kind of entry? My first flight as it stands will be on the 23rd April.
Or do you just want to hear about my travels?
To travel is to live… 