Ebola Resources for Flight Attendants
| Health Guidance |
Immediate Actions
Please make yourself familiar with and follow your airlines's policies, procedures and reporting processes.
The CDC recommends using the following precautions if a passenger is suspected of having Ebola:
Maintain physical separation from the ill passenger, practice universal precautions including use of gloves.
Look for or ask about any of the following symptoms:
• fever or chills
• severe headache
• muscle pain
• vomiting
• diarrhea
• stomach pain
• bleeding
Ask sick passenger whether they were in a country with an Ebola outbreak (Sierra Leone, Liberia or Guinea) or potentially exposed to a known Ebola patient.
If the sick passenger answered yes to either question above and medical assistance is needed, practice universal precautions including use of masks and gloves.
Properly remove gloves and all other personal protective equipment to minimize the risk of contamination.
Health Guidance
Given worldwide concern with Ebola, authorities such as the CDC, OSHA, and WHO are providing ongoing updates and issuing guidance to various stakeholders. Below are several useful links to information that may help protect you, your families, friends, coworkers, and the traveling public.
CDC
Ebola Exposure Travel Restrictions
Ebola Guidance for Airlines [see CDC’s Infection Control Guidelines for Cabin Crew Members on Commercial Aircraft for more information on practical measures cabin crew members can take to protect themselves, passengers, and others.]
CDC's web-based training on proper Hand Hygiene. Originally created for health care workers, this resource has important information on infection control practices that can be helpful for Flight Attendants.
Interim Guidance for Monitoring and Movement of Persons with Ebola Virus Disease Exposure
Ebola Management Algorithm for Evaluation of the Returned Traveler
Ebola Outbreak: Airport, Border, & Port of Entry Resources for Use by International Partners [includes an Entry Travel Health Alert Notice - Arriving from West Africa and a Travel Health Alert Notice - Plane or Airport Contact ]
Traveler's Health [While there is significant concern over the spread of Ebola, links to information on other current disease outbreaks are also listed on this page, including Polio, Chikungunya, Measles, Malaria, and Dengue (as of 7/30/14)]
OSHA
Flight Attendant/Cabin Crewmembers Health and Safety
Bloodborne Pathogens Standard factsheet (PDF)
WHO
The latest Disease Outbreak News (DONs) updates
Recent News Articles
CDC says people at high risk for Ebola should stay home - USA Today, October 28, 2014
Doctor with Ebola in New York stable; nurse is virus-free - Reuters, October 24, 2014
Flight Attendant Union Issues Ebola Protection and Response Checklist - AFA Media Release, October 17, 2014
Flight Attendant Union Praises Appointment Of Ebola Czar Ron Klain - AFA Media Release, October 17, 2014
Flight attendants furious about the Ebola threat - Fox News, October 16, 2014
AFA Applauds Frontier Airlines for Swift, Responsive Action After Recent Ebola Incident - AFA Media Release, October 16, 2014
Obama: Ebola 'SWAT teams' to respond to infections - USA Today, October 15, 2014
Second Texas nurse tests positive for Ebola; woman flew home from Cleveland before falling ill, Associated Press, October 15, 2014
U.S. adds extra level of airport screening for Ebola - Associated Press, October 9, 2014
Obama Vow on Ebola Screening Means Plugging Airport Gaps - Bloomberg, October 7, 2014
Flight Attendant Union Calls For Increased Passenger Health Screenings In Countries With Ebola - AFA Media Release, October 7, 2014
Why Nation's Top Docs Say Ebola Won't Spread in US - Associated Press, October 6, 2014
Scores possibly exposed to U.S. Ebola patient; four isolated - Reuters, October 2, 2014
Man with Ebola flew roundabout trip to US - Associated Press, October 1, 2014
Ebola Is Diagnosed in Texas, First Case Found in the U.S. - NYTimes.com, September 30, 2014
CDC issues new Ebola warning for crews of U.S. airlines - Daily Mail Online, September 19, 2014
Ebola could infect 500,000 by end of January, according to CDC projection - The Washington Post, September 19, 2014
AFA Member Communication
Oct 21, 2014 - Ebola: Resources for Flight Attendants
Oct 15, 2014 - Ebola Case on Domestic Flight – Information, Support, Protections
Oct 02, 2014 - Heightened Awareness - Health Precautions
Media Releases
Flight Attendant Union Issues Ebola Protection and Response Checklist
Washington, DC –The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), the world’s largest Flight Attendant union representing nearly 60,000 Flight Attendants at 19 carriers, today notified Ebola Response Coordinator Ron Klain and key federal agencies overseeing aviation safety and health of protective and response measures needed to support aviation’s first responders and safe air travel. Read more
Flight Attendant Union Praises Appointment Of Ebola Response Coordinator Ron Klain
Washington, DC –Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) International President Sara Nelson issued the following statement today praising President Obama’s appointment of Ron Klain to lead efforts overseeing the government’s response to the Ebola outbreak in the United States: Read more
AFA Applauds Frontier Airlines for Swift, Responsive Action After Recent Ebola Incident
Washington, DC – The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), representing Frontier Airlines Flight Attendants, applauds Frontier Airlines management for responding immediately to the concerns of frontline workers and taking decisive action to safeguard the health and safety of Flight Attendants affected by transport of the confirmed Ebola patient. Read more
Flight Attendant Union Calls For Increased Passenger Health Screenings In Countries With Ebola
Washington, DC – The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), representing nearly 60,000 Flight Attendants at 19 airlines, today called on government and public health officials to collaborate on more extensive health screenings of passengers travelling from areas affected by the current Ebola outbreak. Read more
