Narrative:

We anticipated a high load-factor on flight ZZZ-ZZZ1 as our pairing showed about xx bookings; so blocking all six rows may not be possible.we decided that if for no other reason than consistency for all flight attendant crews; we would try to uphold the seating restrictions of 3 rows fwd and aft. While I may feel fine personally allowing customers to sit in one additional row; and another flight attendant two rows; some fas may not feel comfortable allowing any leeway unless they had to.we had to redirect many customers back fwd because the operations agent refused to make a PA about the restrictions prior to boarding and the customers don't always pay attention to our pas onboard.there were (understandably) a few frustrated customers; but we tried to explain the reasoning. We feel like there should be a bit more definition. It's very complicated when we don't have assigned seating and people just sit where their boarding pass tells them. If we block 6 rows total; that means we can't have more than X number of passengers on this type of aircraft (leaving an open middle seat between them); and with middle seats filled that brings us to a maximum of X number of passengers while still keeping our 6 rows.can we possibly get some guidance on how to best handle this? I was trying to be consistent for every other flight attendant's sake; so that customers understand what's expected. While I wouldn't tell a customer this; they have a choice in flying...and their travel should be limited to essential only. Plus; they don't all wear masks etc. Crews do not have a choice; we have to come to work and these restrictions are there to protect us. It puts us in a very uncomfortable position to have to manage our own safety in this way without any support or guidance.hopefully this doesn't continue for much longer; but at the end of the day either our safety matters; or it doesn't. We can't expect customers to do what we ourselves aren't even being consistent with and I shouldn't have to feel like the bad guy for protecting not only my own safety; but the safety of my crew.we need clarity. We need access to better signage (buckling seatbelts means nothing). We need operations to make a PA about this when they announce we aren't doing service. We need to know it's ok to push back if we need to. Some customers are used to doing as they please and right now there's not as much autonomy in their choices.

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Flight Attendant reported concerns with COVID-19 guidelines on blocking or not blocking seats and making reference to Flight Attendant/passenger safety.

Narrative: We anticipated a high load-factor on flight ZZZ-ZZZ1 as our pairing showed about XX bookings; so blocking all six rows may not be possible.We decided that if for no other reason than consistency for all FA crews; we would try to uphold the seating restrictions of 3 rows FWD and AFT. While I may feel fine personally allowing customers to sit in one additional row; and another FA two rows; some FAs may not feel comfortable allowing any leeway unless they had to.We had to redirect many customers back FWD because the Operations Agent refused to make a PA about the restrictions prior to boarding and the customers don't always pay attention to our PAs onboard.There were (understandably) a few frustrated customers; but we tried to explain the reasoning. We feel like there should be a bit more definition. It's very complicated when we don't have assigned seating and people just sit where their boarding pass tells them. If we block 6 rows total; that means we can't have more than X number of passengers on this type of aircraft (leaving an open middle seat between them); and with middle seats filled that brings us to a maximum of X number of passengers while still keeping our 6 rows.Can we possibly get some guidance on how to best handle this? I was trying to be consistent for every other FA's sake; so that customers understand what's expected. While I wouldn't tell a customer this; they have a choice in flying...and their travel should be limited to essential only. Plus; they don't all wear masks etc. Crews do not have a choice; we have to come to work and these restrictions are there to protect us. It puts us in a very uncomfortable position to have to manage our own safety in this way without any support or guidance.Hopefully this doesn't continue for much longer; but at the end of the day either our safety matters; or it doesn't. We can't expect Customers to do what we ourselves aren't even being consistent with and I shouldn't have to feel like the bad guy for protecting not only my own safety; but the safety of my crew.We need clarity. We need access to better signage (buckling seatbelts means nothing). We need OPS to make a PA about this when they announce we aren't doing service. We need to know it's ok to push back if we need to. Some Customers are used to doing as they please and right now there's not as much autonomy in their choices.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.