AFA Flight Attendants at Two Additional Carriers Use Known Crewmember Program
Washington, DC - Flight Attendants at Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) today were the latest AFA members to gain access to the alternate, expedited security screening Known Crewmember (KCM) program. Alaska and Horizon are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group.
“The successful inclusion of Flight Attendants in the Known Crewmember programs is a result of the collaborative approach between AFA, government agencies, and airline management,” said Veda Shook, AFA International President. “By working together with key stakeholders, we are ensuring that Flight Attendants across the country have access to this program and are recognized as key partners in aviation security.”
AFA advocated forcefully at many levels of government and industry to promote the KCM program with full recognition of Flight Attendants’ role in aviation security. KCM, developed by A4A and the Air Line Pilots Association, is an expedited screening program for authorized and trusted crewmembers at security screening checkpoints utilizing established security clearances that each aviation employee must meet as a condition of employment. Crewmembers, including Flight Attendants and Pilots, are subject to identical background checks and clearance procedures.
“The inclusion of Flight Attendants into Known Crewmember is another well-earned validation of our trusted role as first responders. AFA has worked very hard to realize this accomplishment and we are extremely thankful that Alaska Air Group has been so supportive from the very beginning. This is a win-win as the TSA will be able to more effectively deploy its resources and Flight Attendants will no longer need to cut the line in front of our passengers at participating KCM airports,” said Jeffrey Peterson, AFA President at Alaska and Leslie Miller, AFA Acting President at Horizon.
The Association of Flight Attendants is the world’s largest Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for 67 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions. Nearly 60,000 Flight Attendants come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afacwa.org.
