EVALUATION OF THE CABIN CREW ROLE DURING CARGO IN THE CABIN OPERATIONS

ABSTRACT

In 2020, the amount of cargo requiring haulage was surplus to the transportation facilities available. The number of commercial flights operated decreased due to Coronavirus 2019 causing lockdowns, immigration restrictions, and border closures. Stay at home measures increased demand for online shopping and deliveries. Due to the reduction in commercial airline passengers and vacancy of the passenger cabin, governmental aviation agencies and airline regulators sought permissions to transport cargo in the passenger cabin. This paper evaluates the task of transporting cargo in the passenger cabin from a cabin safety perspective. Type of cargo and cargo placement in the cabin were key areas identified, as well as fire prevention. Consideration is also given to human factors and the continuously updating standard operating procedures for which cabin crew found themselves responsible when flying weeks after the World Health Organization announced Coronavirus 2019 to be a pandemic. © 2022, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA. All rights reserved.