Flight attendant training is a mandatory, intensive program provided by the hiring airline. This instruction prepares new hires for a professional role focused primarily on maintaining the safety of passengers and the aircraft, rather than just serving food and beverages. This responsibility requires weeks of dedicated learning and practical application. The curriculum ensures crew members are prepared to manage both routine operations and extreme emergency scenarios, transforming applicants into certified safety professionals.
Training Location, Duration, and Compensation
Initial flight attendant training is conducted at the airline’s headquarters or a dedicated training center, often located in major hub cities. The foundational program typically lasts four to eight weeks, with most major carriers requiring six to seven weeks of full-time instruction. Due to the immersive nature of the training, airlines generally provide hotel accommodations for trainees for the entire period, though this often involves sharing a room.
Trainees are usually compensated during this period, though the pay is not equivalent to a full salary. Compensation may be a modest weekly stipend or a lump sum bonus upon successful completion. While the airline covers the cost of training and accommodation, students are responsible for incidental expenses and some meals. Graduation leads directly into an initial operating experience or probationary period, not immediate full employment status.
Intensive Training in Safety and Emergency Procedures
The largest portion of the curriculum focuses on safety and emergency procedures, aiming to ensure the safe evacuation of an aircraft in ninety seconds or less. Trainees are drilled on evacuation protocols for land and water emergencies, including the physical deployment of escape slides and life rafts. Practical instruction emphasizes mastering the precise command calls used to direct passengers during a crisis.
Fire Suppression and Water Survival
Training includes comprehensive fire suppression instruction, covering how to identify different classes of fires that may occur on an aircraft (e.g., electrical or grease fires). Students receive hands-on practice using various fire extinguishers in realistic, smoke-filled cabin simulators. This often culminates in a live fire drill to demonstrate proficiency. Water survival is mandatory, requiring trainees to perform wet ditching drills in a pool to practice inflating life vests and coordinating survival rafts.
In-Flight Medical Response
All attendants complete first aid training, including certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the proper use of an automated external defibrillator (AED). They learn to recognize symptoms of serious health issues, such as strokes or heart attacks, and administer oxygen or use the aircraft’s specialized medical equipment. Trainees also learn procedures for managing rapid decompression and rapid descent, ensuring passengers are secured and emergency oxygen is available.
Security Protocols and Threat Assessment
Security protocol training is mandated by government agencies, such as the FAA and TSA, focusing on intentional human threats. A primary focus involves learning de-escalation techniques to manage disruptive or unruly passengers and diffuse potentially hostile situations. Crew members are trained in the legal use of restraints to subdue a threatening individual when necessary.
Attendants conduct systematic pre-flight and in-flight security checks, scanning for suspicious items or packages. This training emphasizes situational awareness and assessing potential vulnerabilities. The curriculum also covers procedures for responding to extreme scenarios, including bomb threats or hijacking, and details mandatory reporting methods for security incidents to the flight deck and ground personnel.
In-Flight Service Standards and Operational Duties
While safety is the core function, training also addresses the hospitality and communication aspects that define the passenger experience. New hires learn the airline’s specific customer service standards, covering professional etiquette and handling passenger complaints or requests for special assistance. Training includes practice using the public address (PA) system to deliver both standard service announcements and emergency commands with clarity.
Trainees learn galley operations, including the preparation and presentation of meal and beverage services. This involves mastering cart management logistics and complying with Federal Aviation Regulations regarding the responsible service of alcohol. Operational duties covered include conducting pre-flight cabin and catering checks, coordinating boarding and deplaning, and post-flight debriefing processes.
Aircraft Systems and Equipment Mastery
Flight attendants must develop a technical understanding of every aircraft type they are certified to fly. A requirement is the mastery of all passenger and service doors and exits, including the precise procedures for arming and disarming them before and after flight. This instruction ensures the attendant can operate the door systems quickly and correctly under normal and emergency conditions.
Trainees must learn the exact location and function of all emergency equipment carried on each aircraft type in the fleet. This includes knowing how to activate oxygen bottles, fire containment bags, specialized first aid kits, and portable medical devices. The curriculum also covers the operation of systems such as galley ovens, waste compactors, and the interphone and communication systems used to coordinate with the flight deck.
Final Testing and Certification
The culmination of the intensive training is a series of rigorous evaluations designed to confirm the trainee’s proficiency. Candidates must pass multiple written examinations, often requiring a score of 80% or higher on each test, to demonstrate knowledge of regulations and procedures. These theoretical tests are paired with demanding practical drills assessing hands-on skills.
Practical testing requires students to perform a flawless door operation check and successfully complete simulated emergency scenarios, such as a wet ditching drill or a full cabin evacuation. Failure to pass any core practical or written test, even after retesting, generally results in immediate termination from the program. Upon successful completion, the trainee is issued the FAA Certificate of Demonstrated Proficiency, the official certification required to serve as a flight attendant. The newly certified attendant then transitions to initial operating experience under the supervision of an experienced crew member on actual flights.