Flight attendants are burned out and quitting. Here’s why

When Essence Griffin started working as a flight attendant in 2022 she was thrilled. Griffin was in her early 20s and desperate to see the world. The years stuck at home during the pandemic had “lit a fire” inside her. “I really wanted to travel,” she tells CNN Travel. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to get out, and I’ve got to go see things as soon as I can.’” At first, Griffin’s job as a flight attendant for a US airline felt like the perfect opportunity. But after just over a year of flying, she decided to take a step back. “I’m taking a break now,” she says. “I got burned out.” Griffin’s not alone. Working as a flight attendant might sound like a dream job – but in a post-pandemic aviation landscape defined by delays, lost luggage, staffing issues and disruptive passengers, the dream is souring for some. 2020 saw many aviation workers furloughed, while those still working risked falling ill. Then, as the pandemic waned and airplanes returned to the skies, airlines struggled to restaff quickly enough to match demand. When aviation returned, disruptive passengers seemed more prevalent than ever – with the then-obligatory wearing of face masks often the inciting factor. Since 2021, the US FAA has reported a “rapid growth” in “incidents where airline passengers have disrupted flights with threatening or violent behavior.” US flight attendant Rich Henderson, who’s been flying for a decade, says during the pandemic, “the whole thing shifted, the whole environment and the energy in the environment shifted.” “I always tell people that when Covid happened, all of the fun parts of being a flight attendant, all of the satisfying, exciting parts of being a flight attendant were stripped from the job,” Henderson says. In Henderson’s opinion, it’s all yet to shift back – staffing, scheduling and long days remain an issue, while disruptive passenger incidents are a continuing concern.<br/>