What is life like now for cabin crews?
Giulia Carbonaro
Europe;

Translating...

Content is automatically generated by Microsoft Azure Translator Text API. CGTN is not responsible for any of the translations.

Error loading player: No playable sources found
02:49

The aviation industry has been one of the worst hit by the pandemic, with the coronavirus grounding entire fleets and halting traveling for airlines and passengers.

As traveling restarts amid the easing of lockdowns around the world, airlines are trying to adapt to a new normal that's far from the way they used to do business pre-COVID-19 – especially for cabin crews.

"What you usually do is you try to take care of your passengers the best way you can, have a lot of contact with them, try to show all your interest and talk to them," explains Annette Groeneveld, president of the Dutch Cabin Crew Association (VNC).

"And now, actually, what you're doing is you try to keep your distance, and that dynamic on board is so different that it leaves you a bit stunned when you finish the flight, because you hardly know how your passengers have experienced your flight. So it's quite unnerving to see how things have changed in so short a time."

Check out CGTN Europe's special season: Aviation: A New Trail

According to Groeneveld, respecting social distancing on planes is not financially sustainable for airlines, which have based their business model on densifying capacity on their cabins to offer lower prices. And the changes that airlines have made in the past few decades to keep their businesses thriving while offering very low prices to passengers have restructured cabins in a way that makes social distancing impossible for cabin crews and passengers onboard an aircraft.

"Airlines are stuffing too many passengers in their cabins," says Groeneveld. "There is not enough space for cabin crew. We have aisles that are as wide as our trolleys. There is no way anyone can go. So I think we really have to rethink how we want to travel."

Video editor: Sam Cordell

MORE FROM CGTN
{"type":2,"value":"CGTN","commentator":[],"valueShow":true,"commentatorShow":false}

Europe

17:13, 15-Mar-2025

{"type":2,"value":"Rahul Pathak in London","commentator":[],"valueShow":true,"commentatorShow":false}

Europe

16:05, 15-Mar-2025

Greek cabinet reshuffle as prime minister seeks to quell discontent
{"type":2,"value":"CGTN","commentator":[],"valueShow":true,"commentatorShow":false}

Europe

15:40, 15-Mar-2025

{"type":2,"value":"Ray Addison in London","commentator":[],"valueShow":true,"commentatorShow":false}

Europe

14:59, 15-Mar-2025

TOP NEWS
Two years on, China's GCI becomes more vital in turbulent times
{"type":2,"value":"CGTN","commentator":[],"valueShow":true,"commentatorShow":false}

Politics

07:29, 15-Mar-2025

CGTN Poll: China makes peaceful contributions to Iranian nuclear issue
{"type":2,"value":"CGTN","commentator":[],"valueShow":true,"commentatorShow":false}

China

12:34, 15-Mar-2025

China opposes G7 allegation of South China Sea, economic policies
{"type":2,"value":"CGTN","commentator":[],"valueShow":true,"commentatorShow":false}

China

04:03, 15-Mar-2025