It's hard out here for a flight attendant

I vividly recall the late-night flight on which a passenger in a suit and tie stepped out of the restroom and waving his wet hands at my face, spraying water on me as he complained about the dirty sink. In the name of customer service, flight attendants are trained to listen to passenger complaints that can border on the abusive, so unless it was a matter of safety and security I had to bite my tongue. I did think this was a potential health risk, but the senior member of the cabin crew told me to let it go…

When the fasten-seatbelts signs are off, the job of a flight attendant is to be a glorified waiter or waitress. I don’t miss those fingers poking my waist, arms and shoulders as adults demanded food, playing cards, beer or wine. What really galled me, however, were the bodily fluids on the lavatory floor and sink and around the toilet bowl. Most planes do not have space for mops. In our crisp uniforms, we had to get on our knees and clean the mess.

I was hit by bags being stowed in or taken out of the overhead compartments. Check-in employees don’t weigh every carry-on, and overweight bags frequently made their way on board. Once passengers boarded, flight attendants generally didn’t squeeze through the incoming line to pass a bulky bag to cargo attendants. We found a place for it.