Isn’t it true that an airline passenger cabin is usually either too cold or too warm? Welcome to the fickle world of airline thermostats. But after a baby almost died on a hot plane last year, many U.S. flight attendants want government regulation of cabin temperatures.
To effect that change, flight attendants will start monitoring cabin temperatures, compiling a tapestry of data points that may influence future regulation. This is a voluntary move by FAs and encouraged by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA).
To make this data collection process as easy as possible for FAs, the AFA has provided thermometers (see video below) and an app called 2Hot2Cold, which will allow for a more uniform cabin measure. Conde Nast reports that 60,000 keychain thermometers will be distributed to Southwest flight attendants, with more to follow.
I question the practicality of such regulation, but believe the goal is well-intentioned: keeping passengers and crew members safe. I do roll my eyes that this is a security threat, but the AFA makes that argument as well:
Extreme temperatures also impact cabin operations, by degrading the crew’s awareness of possible security threats, increasing stress that can lead to air rage, medical emergencies, a return to the gate, and other operational disruptions.
I mean, sure…so can a bad taco the night before or a skunk outside the hotel room…
You can watch the AFA video here:
What do you think? Should cabin temperatures be more closely regulated or this a futile effort?
> Read More: Baby Hospitalized After Overheating on United Flight
Pictured: Sara Nelson, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
There are 60K Southwest flight attendants. Wow.
Being more uncomfortable than necessary gets people to do weird things. While I’ve never misbehaved on a plane, I’ve been on a couple flights that were so hot I started to panic. On one flight from MSP to YUL the plane was allowed to take off without properly functioning air conditioning and it was torture. It seems silly, but when you’re stuck in a metal tube with no option to make your environment more tolerable, the mind goes strange places.
I wouldn’t doubt that higher cabin temperatures lead to more air rage. Crime also spikes in the summer, and at least part of that is probably temperature-induced short tempers (as well as more people being out of their homes longer due to longer daylight hours, etc.)
As a former short-term resident of Florida though, anecdotally I could point to many shorter tempers in baking FL summers!