Doors, opening of...
Hi there
I'm an engineer and I meet cabin crew every day as part of the job.One thing I did notice recently is that some of them appear to have difficulty with opening doors.Two incidents come to mind:A crew waited outside an aircraft, even though things were running late.None of them made any attempt to open the door and get inside.I opened the aircraft and powered it up.The girls boarded without saying a word.I asked one of the juniors why they hadn't opened up.Waiting 'til the Senior was out of earshot, she said that she'd suggested it but had been shot down by the Senior, who said they "we" do not open doors, only flight crew or engineers.I then asked the Senior, who stated that they were only trained to open doors from within.This I found very hard to believe as they were operating to and from regional airports, with no airbridges or steps to deal with.I asked other CCMs from other flights and they all said as much.I thought that it was bunk then and still is, today.Another time,on an A320, this time,the crew were actually standing out in the rain, waiting for someone else to open up.Again, the Juniors seemed to be intimidated by the Senior, who had crossed over from the long-range fleet, and kept schtum.In this case, the Senior admitted later that she had never opened a 320 door from outside, even though it's operation is the same as the bigger jet's door....I sent a safety note to our air safety people but heard nothing back.
So, are CCMs in other airlines able to open doors from outside?
regards
TDD