Sens. Duckworth, Baldwin call on FAA to study impact of reduced flight attendant staffing

Source: CBS News

Updated on: May 15, 2026 / 8:22 PM EDT


A pair of Senate Democrats is demanding answers from FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford on airplane evacuation testing that's nearly two years overdue and his agency's decision to allow airlines to be able to reduce the number of flight attendants on some long-haul widebody flights. They say their concern is that there may be more emergency exit doors than flight attendants in the event of an evacuation.

"Without a certified Flight Attendant positioned at every dual-aisle floor-level exit, passengers could be left vulnerable at precisely the moment they must rely on skilled, decisive guidance and rapid action from highly trained and certified Flight Attendants," Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin wrote in a letter exclusively obtained by CBS News. "Furthermore, reduced staffing poses additional risk in the unfortunate event that a Flight Attendant is left incapacitated during a serious incident."

The senators say American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have all received approval from the FAA to reduce the number of flight attendants on some aircraft under rules that require one flight attendant for every 50 passengers.

"... (I)t violates the purpose of evacuation certification and creates a dangerous gap in safety," Duckworth and Baldwin wrote. "Reducing the minimum crew requirement means that a single Flight Attendant is solely responsible for operating two doors, up to 19 feet apart. This means one Flight Attendant could be responsible for evacuating hundreds of passengers across two aisles and middle column seats.". An FAA spokesman told CBS News the agency will respond directly to the lawmakers.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/duckworth-baldwin-faa-study-impact-reduced-flight-attendant-staffing/