Fumes & Odors

The company did an overhaul of our Fume & Odor sections in our Flight Attendant Manual (25-01_TR02).  This was a collaboration with Inflight Regulatory compliance and many other departments with consideration from  ALPA and AFA-CWA. 

Some key take-aways include: 

Flight Attendants are no longer required to call MedAire for medical advice. For​ domestic medical assistance, you have two options: request EMS to come to the gate or seek care at a medical establishment. If medical attention is not necessary, you may continue your pairing. Reporting and declining medical attention initially does not preclude the possibility of seeking medical attention later if needed. The SOD or your Inflight supervisor will provide you with the required forms. Do not use your personal insurance for work-related exposures or injuries. It is important to note that MedAire should only be utilized in our international locations for medical care, as they can arrange approved care and transportation to these facilities. ​ Medlink should be utilized during the flight if a flight attendant is incapacitated, however you do not need clearance from them to return to duty.  

Another change involves the Cabin Odor Form. Think of this form as a checklist when you are unable to identify a smell in the cabin. Remember to only complete the form when it is safe to leave your jumpsea​t, since your EFB should never be on your jumpseat during TTL. While it is not necessary to complete this checklist before contacting the Captain, ​ you must be able to provide the Captain pertinent information to determine their next steps such as “What are you smelling?,” “Where is the location it was discovered or strongest?,” “When did it start?,” and “Is anyone is experiencing symptoms?” This form, however must be completed and attached to your Required Operations Report (ROR) and Safety Reports. Spirit AFA-CWA has been informed that analysts are reaching out to request these forms if they are not attached to the ROR. If you are unable to attach the form to your reports, email it to Inflightsafetyandcompliance@spirit.com. This report is also beneficial in relaying information in the post-flight debrief and allows our maintenance teams to figure out the problem. 

Your Health and wellbeing should always be a priority!  AFA has documented and eported for years that the oil and hydraulics used in our aircraft are toxic when heated and enter our cabins through the air vents. The chemical compound in these products has recently increased which is more bad news for your hormones as they are recognized as endocrine disruptors and the EPA classifies it as persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic.  This necessitates swift action to limit exposure to these fumes, which usually cause immediate symptoms and may impair cognitive function along with other medical issues.  

 AFA-CWA International’s Industrial Hygienist has read so many SDRs (Service Difficulty Reports) filed with the FAA by Spirit and a lot of them appear to be originally sourced to the APU.  While maintenance will be the ones to determine if what you are reporting is a mechanical fault, many times these incidents do not leave any trace of a mechanical malfunction and would be classified at the NNF (No Fault Found), but does not mean fumes did not come into the cabin!

What do do know is that most of these incidents occur during takeoff and descent, and when there is a big power change and we are in our jumpseats. You can also confirm the odor from your jumpseat and what you may be experiencing by being vigilant and observing passengers, who may be covering their noses or exhibiting signs of discomfort. If the fumes are primarily in the aft cabin, notify the Lead Flight Attendant so they can contact the captain. Fumes in the forward cabin are likely to be detected by the captain; however, you should still notify them when it is safe to do so. Fume events happen on the ground as well make sure it is not an outside source and communicate with the front end or GSA. 

For additional information email your local base rep or for emergencies email Safety@spiritafa.com.