Annie,
Recently, there has been media coverage about passengers "not taking it anymore" and revolting on flights with long delays. There was a popular video last month on YouTube where a passenger approached the flight deck with a video camera and demanded that the Captain return to the gate after a lengthy delay.

Last week, Diane Sawyer interviewed passengers that were on a Caracas-to-Newark flight that was diverted to DCA or Dulles (I forget which) because of weather and were kept on the aircraft up to four-and-a-half-hours, not including their flight hours. They were understandbly upset. They were finally allowed off the aircraft under armed guards and allowed to use the restrooms before being returned to the aircraft for another delay. In the meantime, passengers revolted against the flight crews and video taped the crews trying to manage an impossible situation that was out of their hands to improve.  

As an advocate for safety on flights, I'm sure you realize the precarious situation the media puts the flight crews in when they report favorably on passenger revolts on airplanes. Flight crews need to be portrayed as allies not enemies. And in some cases as leaders.  Instead, the recent, slanted media coverage puts flight crews at a serious disadvantage. One of the reasons we wear uniforms with stripes is to give the appearance of authority and leadership. In the case of a terrorist threat, we need to be able to get passengers to respond quickly. Our purpose on the airplane is an important one that should not be further eroded. We must balance safety and customer service at the same time, all the time. 

Many of us are very upset with the recent turn of events and we're seriously pressuring our unions to address this. We feel that by allowing the recent media coverage to go unchallenged puts our safety as well as the safety of our passengers at risk.   

Thank you,

S.