AFA-CWA Urges 1 Flight Attendant Per Door on Widebody Jets

1 articles · Updated · View from the Wing · May 16

AFA-CWA asked Congress and the FAA to require at least one flight attendant at every exit door on widebody aircraft, arguing no door should be left uncovered during an evacuation.
The union’s push would raise staffing above current FAA minimums on some aircraft because rules now generally require one flight attendant per 50 seats, not per door.
On American’s Boeing 787-9P, for example, 8 exit doors can be operated with an FAA-certified minimum of 7 flight attendants, though airlines may staff more.
FAA data from a 2022 review of nearly 300 real-world evacuations found emergency evacuation safety already “very high” and said it did not identify current staffing as inadequate.
That review found about 30 evacuation events a year worldwide, versus more than 10 million scheduled U.S. passenger flights annually, with no U.S. evacuation-related fatalities in the 10-year period studied.

With evacuations taking 18 minutes, are FAA staffing rules dangerously outdated for today's widebody jets?

If FAA data shows planes are safe, is the union's staffing push just a bid for more jobs and dues?