‘Trash Pickup Only’: Leaked Memo Exposes American Airlines Slashing Flight Attendant Safety Gear, Restricts Use Of Gloves Inflight - View from the Wing

Jun 28, 2025

by Gary Leff on June 28, 2025

The latest victim of American Airlines cost cuts appears to be flight attendant personal protective equipment.

American Airlines is reducing the number of nitrile gloves onboard for flight attendants to use, and restricting when they’re allowed to wear them. “From this point forward, service gloves should only be worn during trash pickup” according to a memo that went out to all flight attendants.

The airline is transitioning to a new glove vendor, and says that cabin crew should expect only one box with 12 pairs of gloves per flight over the next several weeks. I’m hearing that these gloves have actually missing entirely from drawers frequently on many flights.

Even when the transition is complete, there’s going to be a reduction in gloves, since flight attendants supposed to wear these protective items as often.

Here’s the memo:

American says flight attendants should only use gloves for trash runs and for medical events. But there are numerous reasons for wearing gloves. For instance,

Worldwide, a typical single‑aisle aircraft carries 100–150 pairs: half in the forward galley, the rest split between each service door and the medical kit. Bear in mind that reuse is a safety violation because pathogens adhere to the exterior of the gloves.

While the number of gloves onboard the aircraft is likely a decision made by middle managers or at least inside the inflight department, the message within the airline from the top has been clear. When CEO Robert Isom took over the airline, his first message meeting with employees is that they should ‘never spend a dollar they don’t have to.’ It’s a message he’s repeated. This kind of thinking, that permeated the ranks of Northwest Airlines (where Isom cut his teeth, and many of the airline’s executives once worked), has been internalized.

One Mile at a Time says he’s “happy to see this policy change” because “some flight attendants wear gloves throughout service, and often don’t change them for extended periods of time.” But with fewer gloves boarded, it seems likely they’ll change gloves less often than before. I’d recommend washing hands more frequently, but that’ll just drive up American’s soap expense,

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