Airline Industry Workers Injury, Illness Rates Higher ThanConstruction

April 25, 2000
Some flight attendants are wearing hard hats and offering them to passengers, to make a point about the number of\r\ninjuries taking place in airplane\r\ncabins.

This Friday, flight attendants will band together at airports in Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle and Los Angeles to prompt an appeal for stronger safety and health protections.

On your next flight, flight attendants may be wearing hard hats and offering them to passengers, to make a point about the number of painful, even debilitating injuries taking place in airplane cabins.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), aviation is a dangerous industry for workers.

BLS reports there were approximately 1.2 million workers employed in the "transportation by air" category in 1998. The industry-wide rate of recordable injuries and illnesses was higher (14.5 percent) than in construction (8.8 percent), agriculture (7.9 percent) or mining (4.9 percent).

"OSHA regulations would make the airplane cabin a safer place for flight attendants to do their jobs and for passengers to travel," said Patricia Friend, head of the OSHA NOW! Coalition for Flight Attendant Safety.

The coalition, part of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), dedicates itself to bringing to light the safety problems flight attendants face and continues to ask for OSHA protections for airline workers.

According to AFA, flight attendants suffer injuries related to poorly designed food and beverage carts, slipping on galley floors, handling or being struck by heavy carry-on baggage, and sustaining cuts and burns from galley equipment and oven racks.

by Virginia Sutcliffe

About the Author

EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor:  Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.

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