An Air Canada flight from Casablanca to Montreal was grounded on Friday after a flight attendant launched into a tirade at a group of passengers after someone reportedly requested a blanket before departure because the plane was cold.
Air Canada flight AC73 was due to depart Morrocco’s largest city at around 8:50 am on July 26, but the plane ended up stuck on the ground in Casablanca after, it is claimed, some of the passengers refused to fly with the flight attendant still onboard.
Video footage taken by one of the passengers on the Airbus A330 aircraft shows the flight attendant launching into an angry tirade at the passengers in both French and English following an altercation over an airline blanket.
The flight attendant initially threatened to have the female passenger removed from the plane over her alleged misbehavior before shouting at the other passengers: “I don’t want no bullying against my crew.”
Whilst jabbing her finger in the air, the flight attendant continued to shout at the passengers as they started to react.
It has been reported that the crew then requested to have the woman who requested a blanket removed from the plane but other passengers then threatened to offload themselves in solidarity with the woman.
In the end, the plane had to return to the gate and the flight was subsequently canceled overnight.
Air Canada was able to operate the flight the following day as an extra service but only after finding a new set of flight attendants to look after the passengers.
In a statement, the airline said it was investigating the incident and that it “deeply regretted” what the passengers went through. An Air Canada spokesperson said: “We are taking this incident very seriously. It is under review, and we will take appropriate action.”
The statement continued: “We apologize to our customers and deeply regret that their experience today fell far short of what they have come to expect when flying with Air Canada”.
The airline also says it is offering delay compensation for the passengers who were on the flight.
Matt’s take
It certainly sounds like there might be more to this story than what this video clip shows, although the question remains over whether the flight attendant’s response was justified.
In most cases, flight attendants are encouraged to de-escalate tension onboard, and while there are obviously circumstances when assertiveness is most definitely required, the reaction of the crew member does seem a little excessive.
It was probably a wise move by Air Canada to get a replacement set of flight attendants to operate the new flight with the same passengers, although it will have proved an expensive solution that the crew members involved will now be expected to justify.
This is your typical North American stance about flight attendants behaving like gods and terrorizing passengers colliding with Moroccan culture that doesn’t take shit from anyone even if it means missing a flight.
Maybe american passengers should take note and start hitting airlines where it hurts most: lost revenue
I have a coworker originally from Morocco, and it’s amazing to watch when someone, usually in sales, tries to walk all over her. Her ability to not take crap from anyone is unparalleled. I never knew it was a cultural thing, we just always thought she was a badass!
Your comment is on the mark. Everyone knows that the FA has a stressful job, but the power goes out of control at times. Good on the other passengers for standing up to a bull FA.
kind of expected when the attendents are unionized and bad ones do not need to fear for dismissal
All we see in this video is one side. Why did she feel the crew was being bullied or mistreated? How much should they take from passengers before protecting themselves? We don’t know what got her to this point but as a trained professional I’m sure it was much more than a request for a blanket. Why does her demanding respect equate to a power trip? Respect must be reciprocated.
I feel for the flight attendant. She had enough and she wasn’t going to take it.
Then she definitely has the wrong job…having a meltdown on board a plane (when the flight hasn’t even taken off yet) is not justified after all the training and experience she had. It comes with the territory…deal with it or choose something different, like accounting.
Agreed.
Bullshit! Flight attendants need to know their roles, I’m tired of Diva flight attendants or moody flight attendants, don’t want to provide excellent service then go work at Walmart! Get real
Obviously this seasoned attendant had more issues going on in her life than someone asking for a blanket. I hope the airline gets her the help she needs rather than destroying an entire career over a silly incident. Unfortunately, as a Canadian air flyer, I have come to believe that air crews have become too heavy-handed and ready to throw people off the flight, even over a minor disturbance.
I work in the service industry I can both sides. Unfortunately I’ve noticed that a lot of people are self centered and inconsiderate. People have a sense of entitlement and expect more while giving less on both sides. I travel a lot and it’s not the same. The clientele isn’t the same .
Air Canada , at least we are rude to you in both official languages
Thanks for posting this, people need to see it to believe it.
There are always tactful ways to deal with things at work. You HAVE to keep a level head on the job-always. You can set boundaries politely if someone is being rude but the flight attendant in this case is acting like an animal in a jungle which is NOT ok from ANYONE while in the confines of an aircraft. People don’t put up with that anymore and I hope she is now gainfully UNemployed as her temper is a hazard to herself and others.
Absolutely. I was a nurse for 25 years- you just can’t act like that. Ya gotta get another job.
Finally! They’ve been caught on camera! Have u guys ever flew with Air Canada??? Them and United have the worst flight attendants thats why i vowed never to fly with anymore. I fly westjet. They are so unfriendly! So different from other airlines.
This of course doesn’t show the whole story, but that flight attendant is way out of line!
Typically, in many similar incidents I have read about, the passengers side with the crew member and are glad when an obnoxious passenger is put in their place (or off the plane). The fact that in this instance, the fellow passengers sided with the person who was having the issue, tells me that it likely was the flight attendant who was at fault.
This incident was not about a blanket request. Passengers were abusive towards the crew before push back and it escalated. Did she lose her cool , clearly. But it took a whole lot more than a blanket request to get there. Report the entire story so that people can judge fairly.
And since you have the full story, you so conveniently failed to provide any evidence of that. If you want people to create honest opinions then back your story with any evidence rather than the imaginary one.
Airlines need to vet the jail guard mentality out of their flight attendants. All too often I have seen passangers treated badly. As a paying passanger I expect respect and do not like it when I see attendants threaten customers immediately with throwing them off the flight for no good reason. It’s apparent these attendants have a short fuse and are not suited to this line of work… They have been trained with this response and it’s all to easy to just threaten to toss off the flight than to talk an issue out.
then ask the government to deunionize the flight attendent, why would they behave if they could get away with everything?
Tried once to fly Air Canada from BWI to Calgary. Plane never showed up at the departure gate. Still stuck at Toronto , which the airline had to have known for hours, yet never communicated to passengers. Eventually Air Canada announced the flight was cancelled, bu too late for us to get an alternate flight to Calgary. Ended up having to buy first class tickets fo a next day flight. Missed the entire first day of our Nat Geo tour. Then had to fight like hell to get an eventual refund. Never Air Canada.
I was on a flight once with drunk and disorderly baseball players returning home from a victorious away game. They were beyond out of control And the head flight attendant had them in their seats with their gear stowed without raising her voice in an instant. To this day I have no clue what she said but they would not look her in the eyes and called her ma’am the rest of the flight. Modern flight attendant attitude is out of control and just another reason I refuse to fly. Several of us military members chipped in and bought the whole flight crew drinks or dinner for their amazing control due to the baseball player incident and the near crash into the ocean which the pilot and copilot managed to avoid. Worst flight ever yet the crew made it all okay. I miss flight crews with that level of professional pride.
I don’t believe for a second that FA had any reason to do what she did. You say that they are trained to de-escalate. They are also trained on hospitality and when was the last time anyone has really felt warmth about that. If it was passenger’s fault, trust me, the pilot would be called to come out and the passenger would be off the plane shortly. I have seen it happen on many occasions. FA could find any reason and pilots always sign on their side. The fact that this did not happen is a clear sign that this FA has no business ever being on any future flights.
We deeply regret that their experience today fell far short of what you have come to expect when flying with Air Canada”.
Incorrect this is what I expect from AC zero customer service coupled with dictatorship like customer service
Now when I fly I try not to interact with anyone. Polite, yes but highly reserved. I’ve run into my share of rude FAs who don’t want to do anything and bristle at any requests. Now with the way people act with zero self control I can understand they are on edge and can be set off by almost anything. Yet this is the job they chose. Once while flying and reading a magazine one of the reader response cards dropped out. A FA saw this and started yelling and berating me for throwing trash on the floor. Quite a shock to me since this happened without me seeing it. I just picked it up and handed it to her and never flew on that airline again.