Nufam suggests placing air marshals on board flights

The National Union of Flight Attendants (Nufam) suggested that Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) introduce a new policy to place air marshals on board its planes.

This comes after claims by Nufam that they were not consulted on the new procedural changes adopted by MAS on board its flights.

In a report by The Star, Nufam president Ismail Nasaruddin said some of the new guidelines include requiring a flight attendant to stand guard at the cockpit door when food is served to the pilots, a cabin crew member must sit in the flight deck until the pilot returned from the restroom, and for the crew members to keep an eye out for “suspicious-looking” passengers who brought their hand luggage with them into the toilet.

“We are not body guards,” he said firmly.

In addition Ismail said that flight attendants are safety professionals trained to carry out emergency procedures if anything went wrong.

He added that the new guidelines would interrupt service on board as there is a shortage of cabin crew.

Ismail claims that he did not receive any formal notice of the changes and only heard about it unofficially.

“Consultation should have been done before this was imposed. Do not hastily carry out something without prior engagement with the union or crew members themselves,” he told The Star.

Ismail said the changes must not be enforced until all stakeholders have been informed, and if such guidelines are necessary, it should be implemented across all airlines, not just MAS.