Stewardesses do their best to make tourists comfortable on board the airliner, but there is one service that passengers should never ask flight attendants for, as they will probably refuse to do so.
American flight attendant Jamila Hardwick explained on social media that staff can not be helped by tourists to lift the luggage of travelers in the upper lockers. There is a good reason for this.
“We are not paid until the landing door closes. If we get injured when we lift this bag in the upper compartment for hand luggage and things, we will not be able to attribute it to an industrial injury,” she said.
Other flight attendants agreed with her, confirming that it was too dangerous. One of the former stewards said that he was familiar with the situation: “We were forbidden to clean the luggage of passengers, because if we get hurt, the company will not be responsible for it. It was not our responsibility, and we were not paid for it – although I would not do it for money, but rather because I did not want to risk my spine, because these bags are sometimes terribly heavy.
However, the staff admitted that they would still help if the tourist turned out to be elderly or disabled. Many commenters agreed that passengers should not ask the crew to help them with luggage. “Passenger hand luggage is their responsibility. They should take with them only what they can lift, in the upper compartment”, “Do not wait for help from the flight attendants; imagine if every passenger asked for help – she would have big back problems in the future, “Sometimes tourists carry large suitcases, as if carrying bricks, and wait for staff to lift this burden,” – they stood up for the flight attendants.