Nufam Unhappy Over Scrapping Of Social Distancing In Flights

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CORONAVIRUS | The National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) said it is alarmed and appalled over the loosening of social distancing rules once airlines resume normal flight service
In a statement released today by the Nufam secretariat, the union said the Transport Ministry had issued letters to both Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) in which it indicated that once other health measures were implemented, the social distancing rule need not be implemented in order to allow airlines to return to full capacity
This tallies with Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong's announcement on Thursday that the decision to do away with social distancing on board aircraft was made after taking into account international standards and guidelines of the International Air Transport Association (IATA)
According to Wee, the IATA guidelines do not require social distancing but state clear procedures such as health screenings including taking body temperature, wearing mouth and nose masks and other safety procedures the crew needs to perform before and after a flight
Nufam, however, is not happy with the lack of consultation and said the new directive puts pilots and cabin crew at risk
"With this sudden and new directive issued to Mavcom and CAAM, airlines will now be able to carry 100 percent full capacity load of passengers within the domestic and regional runs
"They have not even discussed anything (with us) but already issued a directive which can also put our crew and pilots at risk
"The question now is will the cabin crew be able to manage the Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP) on board with a 100 percent passenger capacity
"The current SOP is meant for half of the load, not under a full load basis. There is going to be extra work for the cabin crew," added Nufam
It accused the Transport Ministry of maintaining double standards in its Covid-19 containment policies in order to please the airlines without asking them to place extra manpower on their flights
Wee Ka Siong"How will the crew carry out their service whilst at the same time carry out the social distancing SOP? It looks like someone has shifted the goal post without asking us," said Nufam
It also highlighted concerns over who will maintain the hygiene and sanitisation of plane toilets during the flight. "Under the current SOP, the crew has to sanitise and check the toilets after every five passengers have used the toilets. Are there special cleaners being engaged by the airlines to sanitise and maintain the cleanliness of these toilets every 10 to 15 minutes
"Surely they cannot expect with minimum numbers and 100 percent load that the cabin crew must also clean and sanitise the toilets while carrying out in-flight service on board," it added
Nufam also wanted the Health Ministry to confirm that it has given its approval for full load capacity and the forgoing of current social distancing guidelines on flights
"We also believe the social distancing gap on board the planes must be maintained, just like how it is done in all public restaurants and eating places
"Until such time the country is totally free from the Covid-19 virus, we should all manage the spread of Covid-19. We urge both ministries to think of these issues seriously and place the safety and lives of our cabin crew and passengers above business," said Nufam, which called for a National Aviation Consultative Council (NACC) board meeting on the matter
"Cabin crew, pilots and engineers are also being affected and laid off by the airlines while the airlines continue to bounce back to their normal business today. After only three months, thousands of people have lost their jobs," it said
On Thursday, Wee posted on Facebook that he had met with the representatives of Malaysia’s major airline companies to discuss the revival of the country’s aviation industry
These included Malaysia Airlines CEO captain Izham Ismail, AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat and Malindo Air CEO Mushafiz Mustafa Bakri. - Mkini

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