I'll say it again - We really must rethink our attitude towards evacuations and safety briefings. It is patently clear from Jet2's last three evacuations that these were truly cake and arse parties. It's not Jet2 fault because I'm sure they followed the guidance given by the clowns in the CAA and the lovely muppets in EASA. I'm also sure that cabin crew were properly trained and did their jobs to the very best of their ability. But what appears to have changed is the passenger. Each one now appears to "have rights", very few listen to the pre-flight brief and far too many make their own uninformed, ignorant opinions about their own safety and the actions they should take. Those who can't make up their minds screech and howl whenever anything unusual occurs. The media then re-enforce the beliefs of the stupid by reporting the rubbish they spout off.
Hear, hear!
People have become so accustomed to everything being handed to them on a plate. Of priviledges being presented to them as necessities that they now believe it is their right to go abroad for 2 weeks every year rather than a privilidge because 'itz mai human ritez tho innit'.
Like last night. The aircraft evacuated with NO warning to anyone, not even ground crews. The menzies crew had to duck for cover when the slides went as 2 of them were underneath chocking it and nearly got taken out when the flaps extended and slides blew out without warning. Handling agents are not trained to manage evacuations - thats the realm of AirOps and RFFS.
So how the hell in the world do these passengers expect there to be ANYONE at the bottom of the slides to help them less than 10 seconds after the decision to evacuate was taken? Do they think they have evacuation teams that instantaneously just spring up out of thin air?
I've flown Jet2 in a door seat so I KNOW that crew speak to each person at an 'unmanned' emergency exit to check that they know that in the event of evacuation it is their responsibility to check it is safe, open the door and either help people get out the door or help them off the slide at the bottom.
But yet some of these passengers seem to think that having paid their ticket price that, even in an emergency, everyone has to wait on them hand and foot. And I think that LoCo really hasn't helped this. People don't see Cabin Crew as emergency responders whose primary duty is to keep them safe, they see them as air bourne customer service and sales representatives and their personal attendants to serve them in the air - "would you like to buy a scratch card sir?"