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HOW TO HANDLE ANGRY

PASSENGERS
AMLAN ROY CHOWDHURY

Passengers a diverse
mixture
As a member of cabin crew on a
commercial airline you will come
across a large mix of people from all
backgrounds and cultures.
Although there are manystereotypesin
society, it may be useful to be aware
of them for quick and efficient
handling of passengers.

 Astereotypeis a cultural and social

expectation that may not be wholly true
and accurate but exists in society and we
cannot avoid them.
Would you provide the same service to an
elderly man the same way you would treat
a 20 year old man heading on holiday?
What language and service would you
provide someone with full religious garb,
or a pregnant woman finding it difficult to
enjoy the flight? Or simply, how would
you treat an angry passenger compared to
a co-operative and peaceful passenger?

Title

Describing appearance and

emotions

It is useful to ask yourself questions

when you have to deal with a
problem passenger and keep in mind
these questions need to be answered
within a few seconds: Who are they?
Why do you think they are
complaining or not co-operating?

How will you resolve the

situation?

Title
. It is advisable to not use overly
direct and plain language.
e.g. a passenger is complaining about
their meal, and evaluating the
situation consider your language.
1. Politeness and consideration

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This can also be reinforced by modal verbs

that are not strong but still project advice,
suggestion and recommendation. For
example: Sir, youmaylike to try this meal instead.
Madam,wouldyou like to try this option?
Youcouldtry this meal instead, sir.
Escalated problems, in other words
situations you probably cannot handle on
your own need to be directed to your senior
colleague.

SENIORS
Use of adjectives and nouns e.g. angry
passenger
Keep it simple and use the present simple or
progressive tenses e.g. he is not moving
from his seat.
Using stronger tone and stress will show
your Senior the situation is more important
compared to if you use a lighter tone.His
reaction will greatly depend on how YOU
project

SITUATION .1

Context.
What type of passengers?
Predict.
Whatcouldbe
potential problems?
Communicate.
What language will you
use?

This picture shows a group of young travelers,

maybe college students heading for college tour.
There is a possibility they may be noisy and even
over-bearing towards other passengers.

SITUATION..2

Context.
What type of passengers?
Predict.
Whatcouldbe
potential problems?
Communicate.
What language
will you use?

Looking at the body language and gesturing

of the male passenger there could be a
problem with his meal. Did he order it? Is
there a problem with what is on the plate?
Also consider his age and background.

SITUATION.3

Context.
What type of passengers?
Predict.
Whatcouldbe
potential problems?
Communicate.
What language
will you use?

A number of situations could be predicated

here, from complaining to even an argument
between passengers. How would you
handle the situation, would you need more
help from a supervisor?

MENTAL

CHECKLIST

*Be aware of your passengers and who

they are
*Ask yourself a series of questions to
evaluate the situation
*What could happen next, will you
need a supervisor? How would you
speak to the supervisor, how would
you describe the passenger?

THE IMPORTANT FIVE

*Assertive Communication/
Behavior
*Active Listening Skills
*Disability Awareness
*Person-First Language
*Managing Anger

*ASSERTIVE COMMUNICATION AND

BEHAVIOUR

*The language of assertive

communication
begins with the use of I statements.
**Assertive behavior is not aggressive
behavior.
***It avoids the use of you
statements.

Suppose you have an obstinate passenger

who refuses to fasten his/her seat belt.
Possible response, that will elicit a desired
behavior:
Sir/Madam It is mandatory
that all passengers must wear the seat
belt". This is
also for your own safety
**Dont let a passengers bad
attitude rub off on you.
**Be prepared to face difficult.

ACTIVE LISTENING
Listening is perhaps the most needed
and often the least practiced
communication skill.
Active listening includes skills that
convey recognition of the other
persons situation and feelings. In
order to do this, Cabin Crew needs to
listen to and understand the true
meaning of what passengers are
saying, not just hearing their words.

TECHNIQUES OF ACTIVE LISTNING

Paraphrase or restate in your words

what you heard.
Ask clarifying questions.
Make eye contact with the
passenger.
Use nonverbal cues such as nodding
and facial expressions.

Disability Awareness
Another strategy for effectively
managing potentially difficult situations
is that the crew should be sensitive
and responsive to passengers with
disabilities. Crew who are sensitive and
understanding of the needs of
passengers with disabilities are better
prepared to head-off potentially difficult
situations. The goal here is
to

Person-First Language
Person-first language refers to the
individual with a disability before
referring to their disability.
Using terms such as handicapped
or wheelchair bound dehumanizes
the individual and tends to
categorize him/her on the basis of
disability.

 Saying individual with a disability

or person in a wheelchair not only
acknowledges the person, it also
dispels the notion that the person is
bound to a wheelchair.
Wheelchairs are liberating, not
confining!

Managing Anger
THE MOST IMPORTANT
ATTRIBUTE OF CABIN CREW

Anger is a response to an event over

which the individual may or may not
have control.

The anger may be driven by events

completely unrelated to
the present event.

Every individual has an anger

threshold. A situation that makes
one persons behavior explode may
only elicit a sigh from someone else.

The goal of a successful Cabin Crew is

to manage the issue and diffuse the
passengers anger.

Causes of passenger Anger

Delay in departure/arrival
Unprofessional handling of passenger
at check in.
IFE not functioning. PTVs not
working.
Misinformation to passengers.
Mishandling of Passengers on arrival.
Passenger not getting what he asked
for.
Vegetarian meal not given.
Passenger Call not attended.

PROPER COMMUNICATION

Eg. Lets suppose you are running 2

hrs late because another passenger
was ill and you had to go back to the
gate, call for medical assistance and
then offload the passenger.
The other passengers on board are
annoyed, but understanding of the
circumstances;
However, when you arrive at your next
stop, the individual boarding is
furious. Which crew response will

1) Hey man, we had a passenger

who was ill and we had to go back to the
gate and then off load the passenger. just
chill-out man!

2) I can understand your feelings

and you have every right to be upset.
I apologize that were running so
late. We had a passenger who was ill
and we had to go back to the gate and then
offload the passenger.

Techniques that make a passenger feel

heard and help diffuse his anger.

General demeanorcalm, listening,

non-threatening, understanding of
issue;
Tone of voicekeep voice low and
steady; speak slowly, and
paraphrase,
identify with the passengers
feelings;
Languageuse I statements such
as, I can see that you are very

Techniques that make a passenger feel

heard and help diffuse his anger.

Body languagemaintain eye

contact, nod agreement, hands
quiet;
Maintain personal controlif the
Cabin Crew loses his/her temper,
nobody benefits and it will escalate
tension.
Neither the Cabin Crew nor other
passengers should put up with verbal
abuse, profanity or threatening

VERY IMPORTANT
If a Cabin Crew feels that a
passenger poses a danger, he/she
needs to call immediately for help
from seniors.
All incidents should be documented in
accordance with the airlines policy.

THE EIGHT IMPORTANT

STRTEGY TO MANAGE
ANGER

STRATEGY1
If someone is angry, let them sound
off and calm down before you try to
deal with the situation. Unless they
get really abusive or threaten you,
it's best to let them get it off their
chest. Once they have run out of
steam, it's much easier to handle
things.
Don't try to interrupt them and

STRATEGY2

In the face of anger, your " fight or

flight " responses will kick in. In other
words, you will feel the urge either to
become aggressive yourself or to run
away. Try not to shout back or to
burst into tears. Stay calm, count to
10 ( or 20 ), take deep breaths and
stay in control.

STRATEGY..3
Maintain neutral but assertive body
language. What one earth does that
mean? Well, it sounded impressive.
It means, don't avoid eye contact
and look down at the floor and don't
shrink physically. But don't take an
aggressive stance either, just sit or
stand up straight, keep eye contact
and try to look calm and attentive.

STRATEGY..4

Listen carefully and try to really

understand what is causing the
problem. As they calm down and you
can have more of a dialogue with
them, start to ask questions to get
specifics about what is wrong. Show
them you are interested in getting to
the root of the matter, not avoiding

STRATEGY5
Acknowledge their right to be angry if they have a
point. For example, if you have made a mistake or
failed to complete something by a deadline, own
up to it and don't make excuses. If they have
been left in a difficult position, tell them you can
see why they are annoyed or frustrated and that
you are eager to help them put things right.
Don't say " I understand how you feel " because
people often react to that by saying " I don't think
you do ".
Instead, say something like " I can see why this is
frustrating for you. "

STRATEGY6
If something has gone wrong, make
suggestions about how to fix it. Don't
get bogged down in how it went
wrong, be positive about how you are
going to make it better. Show that
you are taking them seriously and
say " This is what I'm going to do to
deal with this."

STRATEGY..7
Don't take it personally ( unless it is,
of course) Usually, if a client gets
annoyed, it's not personal, it's
because something has gone wrong
and they are in a difficult position.
That may or may not be your fault.

Don't take it as a personal attack.

Deal with the situation, not the
person.

STRATEGY.8
Remember that the way you deal with a
mistake can lead to someone becoming a
committed client or PASSENGER of yours.
We've all had problems with suppliers or
service providers and the way they have
handled the problems has determined
whether we stayed with them or not.
Where someone takes your complaint
seriously and deals with it quickly and
courteously, you are probably even more
likely to stay with them than if the problem
hadn't arisen in the first place.

THANKYOU AND HAVE A

SAFE FLIGHT

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PRESENTATION BY: AMLAN ROY CHOWDHURY