“At LAT, both prospective and experienced cabin crew members regularly train for situations that rarely occur in everyday life but can be a matter of life and death in an emergency,” says Bettina Alborghetti, Head of Training Quality at LAT Switzerland. Together with her team, she trains new cabin crew members on behalf of and in close collaboration with SWISS and guides them through their regular refresher training.

Safety training is a central component of this. The focus is on firefighting, first aid, human factors, and in particular aircraft evacuation. Because when smoke, fire, or other hazards occur on board, action must be taken within the shortest possible time. “During an evacuation, cabin crew members step out of their usual role as hosts. Clear, loud, and precise commands are then crucial to getting passengers safely and quickly out of the aircraft,” explains Bettina. At LAT, this is regularly practiced in a realistic manner using so-called Cabin Training Devices (1:1 scale cabin models), including darkness, noise, and time pressure.

Carry-on luggage stays on board
There are also important rules of conduct for passengers in an emergency. One of the most important: Leave your carry-on luggage behind. Bags or suitcases can block escape routes, injure other people, or become dangerous when sliding down the slide. Equally crucial is the correct body position on the slide: do not place your hands at your sides, but bring them forward, and lean your upper body slightly forward — “like a croissant,” as Bettina says.

Filming puts people in danger
Another issue is increasingly concerning the instructors: smartphones. All too often, people film first instead of acting in emergency situations. This can be particularly dangerous during an evacuation. Anyone who stops to take pictures hinders others from escaping and puts themselves in unnecessary danger. In an emergency, every second counts—so the focus must always be on exiting the aircraft quickly and safely.

Regular training in such procedures is part of the highest safety standards in aviation. Much of this remains invisible to passengers. This makes a look behind the scenes all the more important: because professionalism is demonstrated not only in onboard service, but above all in preparation for situations that everyone hopes will never occur.