Association of Flight Attendants-CWA

WASHINGTON — The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) today praised Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Representative John Garamendi (D-CA), along with Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Edward J. Markey (D-MA), who introduced the Cabin Air Safety Act of 2019 to protect airline passengers and crew from the harmful effects of toxic cabin air.

“Senators Blumenthal, Feinstein, and Markey and Representative Garamendi are true champions for clean air onboard planes for Flight Attendants and passengers. We thank them and encourage their Senate colleague to join this legislation as cosponsors. Our workspace is the public’s travel space and in that space today, crews and passengers are breathing toxins and it has to stop,” said AFA International President Sara Nelson.

AFA’s efforts to improve the cabin environment span the last three decades, from advocating for smoke-free skies to stopping poisonous pesticide spraying to addressing the dangers of contaminated bleed air. We advocate that the airline industry either end the use of engine bleed air for cabin air supply like on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner or mitigate the circulation of contaminated air. In 2015, AFA was an active member of the ICAO task group that published Circular 344, which advises airlines to enhance their operational procedures to minimize onboard exposure to smoke and fumes. This led to an FAA Safety Alert published in 2018.

“Most Americans go to work with the expectation of breathing clean air. Flight Attendants don’t have this guarantee, and it is past time for that to change.” Nelson stated.

The Cabin Air Safety Act is bills in the House and Senate are H.R.2208 and S.1112, respectively.

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The Association of Flight Attendants is the Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for 73 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions. Nearly 50,000 Flight Attendants come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afacwa.org.