In a viral video, a flight attendant is seen dancing and posing for a photo on the wing and another crew member strikes bodybuilding poses. — Photos: Screengrab from Breaking Aviation News & Videos/X
They were taking photos and striking poses – on a wing of a Boeing 777 aircraft in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Now, at least two crew members of Swiss International Air Lines have landed themselves in trouble and are under investigation, according to media reports.
In a viral video that began circulating earlier in August, a female flight attendant is seen dancing and posing for a photo on the wing.
A man, who is reportedly a senior cabin chief, later joins the flight attendant and starts striking bodybuilding poses.
The flight attendant then leaves the aircraft by an overwing emergency exit.
In the video, two ground crew members can also be seen posing in front of the aircraft engine, as another ground crew member takes photos of them.
The video appears to have been taken at an airport terminal.
The incident took place just before the flight departed on Aug 16, said American news outlet Insider.
No passengers were on the plane when the crew embarked on their stunt, said the news report.
A representative for the airline strongly criticised the cabin crew’s antics and said that their behaviour would not be tolerated.
“What looks like fun in the video is actually life-threatening,” said Swiss International Air Lines spokesman Michael Pelzer in a statement to Insider.
“The wings of a Boeing 777 are at a height of about 5m. Moreover, after landing, even in high temperatures, the wings may be covered with ice. A fall from that height onto the hard surface can be devastating.”
The airline has been in contact with the flight attendants in question, said Mr Pelzer.
He also said that the airline crew should set foot on a plane’s wing only in the event of a dire emergency, such as evacuations, reported the New York Post.
Martin Knuchel, the airline’s vice-president and head of cabin crew, criticised the behaviour of the crew.
However, in a report by the Daily Mail, Knuchel said that the airline would not just jump to sack the crew members.
“Hey guys, I’ll be honest. I’m angry and disappointed,” he said.
“What if the passengers no longer trust us when they see this video? This has to stop, there must be no more videos likes this.”
In the New York Post report, several unnamed crew members said they disapproved of their colleagues’ actions.
“I thought... Is that real?” said a 33-year-old crew member.
“In addition to the fact that it is of course extremely dangerous, it is simply unprofessional.”
The incident comes shortly after reports of passengers behaving inappropriately on flights, and adds to the challenges faced by flight attendants.
In July, Tiffany Gomas had to disembark from an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Orlando after she accused another passenger of stealing her AirPods.
A video of the 38-year-old marketing executive began circulating online after she accused another passenger on the plane of not being “real”. She has since apologised for her behaviour.
This is also not the first time a person has been seen standing on a plane wing inappropriately.
In 2020, Ukraine International Airlines banned a woman from future flights after she opened a plane’s emergency exit and climbed onto its wing.
After the aircraft landed in Kyiv, Ukraine, the woman stepped onto the wing, complaining that she was feeling “too hot”. – The Straits Times (Singapore)/Asia News Network
