Flight attendants loose 70 per cent monthly income due to COVID-19

Flight crew members were among those who suffered huge losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic when they had to make do with only 30 per cent of their normal monthly income.

National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (NUFAM) president Ismail Nasarudin said this was because 70 per cent of the crew's income was dependent on flight allowance.

"For a cabin crew, the flight allowance is higher than the basic salary of around 60-70 per cent.

"It could not be achieved due to the lack of flights following the stay home order around the world," he said when interviewed by Astro AWANI's Realiti Rakyat segment on Wednesday.

Ismail said about 90 per cent of the crew members were affected by the shortage of flights.

"There are also airlines that deduct workers' wages by providing unpaid leave to cover the airlines’ losses.

"In fact, there are also companies that cut wages up to 100 per cent including the top management," he added.

In the face of these difficult times, NUFAM expects all employees to learn new skills to earn a little extra income.

"The flexibility provided by employers to do odd jobs should be beneficial to all employees. Some have started a small business besides involving themselves in the e-hailing service.

"This is a good step to offset their loss of income as the current situation may persist for several years," he said.

Ismail also hoped that all the flight crews will be steadfast and continue to work hard to cope with these challenging times.