Flight Attendant Interview Questions

A Flight Attendant is responsible for ensuring that passengers on board a flight are comfortable, well-serviced, and safe. They generally are the main point of contact for passengers from the point of boarding to the moment passengers leave the plane upon arrival at their destination.

When interviewing a Flight Attendant candidate, you should see if they possess any of the following skills or characteristics:

Exceptional interpersonal skills and a customer-centric mindset
Organised and structured way of working and the ability to follow clear instructions and protocols
Ability to make passengers feel comfortable and to de-escalate the situation when dealing with difficult passengers
Capable of remaining calm and follow protocols even during hectic, emergency situations

Interviewing a Flight Attendant

You found a potential candidate for the role as your new Flight Attendant. That’s great news! It also means it’s time to prepare yourself for the job interview. What interview questions should you ask to ensure you make the right hiring decision?

That’s where our Flight Attendant interview questions and answers (downloadable as PDF) come in handy. This list below contains a variety of Flight Attendant interview questions, including behavioural questions and testing a candidate’s soft skills. Simply add these questions to your interview process and find the right hire faster.

Please note:

Our interview questions are suggestions for early on in the interview process and for candidates with average work experience. They are therefore a little more general.

How to open the job interview

Now, to ensure you get the most out of your candidate, you should make them feel comfortable and put them at ease during the interview. Some interviewers are tempted to straight away test a candidate’s skills and knowledge, but this can have an adverse effect.

The candidate is probably anxious about the interview, and asking tough questions from the get go only makes them more nervous and anxious. And this can cause them to blank or freeze up even if they actually do have the skills or know the answers to your questions.

So instead, we suggest you start the interview with some simple opening questions. These help the candidate settle in and feel more comfortable.

Job Description available

See our Flight Attendant job description here

For the interview

A positive opener to start

What has your journey been so far?

What do you enjoy most about being a Flight Attendant?

Why did you choose to pursue a career as a Flight Attendant?

Behavioral Questions

Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult passenger. How did you handle the situation?
Passengers can be difficult to handle. A successful candidate for this role will showcase their de-escalation tactics, as well as what procedures they follow in such situations.
Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a passenger. What did you do, and why did you decide to do it?
This is your candidate’s time to shine. It shows you how customer-focussed they are and how they do their best to make your passengers feel comfortable.
Tell me about a time you couldn’t resolve an issue or dispute on your own.
This question tests their ability to solve problems and work out resolutions for issues or disputes, even when they can’t find a solution themselves. As a Flight Attendant, they have to be able to work in a team (the cabin crew) and with customers (passengers), so this is an essential skill to have.

Soft Skills

How do you try to make passengers feel comfortable, especially those who are scared of flying?
This question answers specific steps the candidate takes to make people feel comfortable during the flight. Especially for people with a fear of flying, your candidate should have a clear process and plan in place, as this is a very common situation for them to encounter.
How do you keep yourself motivated, especially during long-haul flights?
Short-haul flights are almost done by the time the Flight Attendant has done the security check and brought a first round of drinks. For long-haul flights, work can get tedious and boring. See how they keep themselves motivated during such times.
How do you stay calm during emergency situations?
Although emergencies rarely happen, a Flight Attendant should always be prepared and be able to remain calm during such situations.
How do you ensure you take good care of yourself?
Flight Attendants often work to extremely tight schedules and during very irregular hours. They should be disciplined in ensuring that they practice good self-care.

Hard Skills

What languages do you speak?
Speaking more than one language can be beneficial in this role. See what languages they speak.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our way of working. Can you tell me about a few direct changes in protocols or guidelines that you had to implement because of it?
A practical question to test their familiarity with standard and new protocols and in-flight guidelines.
How many flights and/or flight hours have you worked so far?
A question to gain more insight into their working experience. This gives you an idea of what to expect if you hire this person.
Do you have more experience flying short- or long-haul flights?
Short- and long-haul flights offer quite different working conditions. Knowing in what area the candidate has experience gives you more insight into how qualified they are for the position you’re hiring for.

Operational / Situational Questions

Imagine a passenger doesn’t want to follow your instructions (e.g., during takeoff or landing) and you notice they are becoming aggressive. What do you do?

De-escalation is essential in this role. The candidate should be able to remain calm, try to keep the passenger calm, and know when to ask for support from other members of the crew.

Imagine a passenger comes to you complaining that the passenger in front of them has their seat down. What do you do?

This can pose a difficult situation. Of course, the passenger in the front should be able to lower their seat, but the Flight Attendant should simultaneously also take the other passenger’s complaint seriously. This question tests their problem-solving skills.

Imagine the pilot informs you that there is a system failure, and you’re going to have to make an emergency landing in a field. What do you do?

There are strict and clear procedures to follow in such situations. Your candidate should be able to walk you through the steps of this protocol.

Imagine a passenger is afraid of flying and starts panicking during take off, demanding the flight turns around and lets them off. What do you do?

This can be a really difficult situation to be in. Will they keep trying to calm the passenger down? At what point will they decide it’s time to let the pilot know they might have to turn around? Find out how the candidate would handle such a situation.