Flight attendants denounce misrepresentation in Ramadan series

CAIRO – 29 May 2017: Each year, at least a handful of Ramadan TV series face waves of criticism from a certain unsatisfied audience. Some are simply attacked for lack of accuracy or credibility; others are slammed for misrepresentation or negligence; and the list goes on.

The first wave of criticism this year sparked from the community of Egyptian flight attendants, who denounced the "ignorant" representation of their profession in Ramadan TV series.

In a statement released Monday, the General Egyptian Flight Attendant Union decried Ramadan TV series that portray air hosts "in complete ignorance of the technicalities of the profession."

"We understand that the writer would have his own imagination and characters that he wants to present but there are basics for every profession that need to be acknowledged from the specialists," the statement read.
The union further announced that it would be taking legal measures to preserve the rights of its members, calling for flight attendants to ignore these "low-grade productions."

"If the objective is entertainment, what is being presented is disrespectful frivolity," the statement read.

Air hostesses in Ramadan Series:

The TV series "Ard Gaw" (Arabic for Surface-to-air), starring Ghada Abdel Razek, kicked off Saturday, with the start of Ramadan. It tells the story of a struggling air hostess, whose brother decides to hijack her plane.

Another comedy series is also solely based on an event of a plane crash, with the naïve and nutty flight attendant as the main character. "Fel Lala Land," starring actress and singer Donia Samir Ghanem tells the story of a diverse group of lost passengers, who found themselves on an isolated island after their plane had crashed.

Most news outlets have left aside "Fel Lala Land" when addressing the flight attendants' accusations, focusing solely on Razek's series, which is built on the life story of the air hostess, and focusing more on the technicalities of the profession and the planes. The statement, however, has not mentioned a specific program.

Meanwhile, "Ard Gaw" has reportedly recorded a very high viewership; and its hashtag has been trending on Twitter since the very first episode. It has so far reached almost one million views on YouTube.



There still has not been any response from the actress or the crew regarding the statement.

"Ard Gaw" is the first television program to break into the world of Egyptian life attendants; however, the profession has been portrayed from different perspectives throughout the history of Egyptian cinema.

The Rowdies and the Captain (1991)

Three flight attendants receive a warning that one of the passengers on board is being followed by an international terrorist organization that is planning to kidnap and kill him.
The flight attendants try to rescue him; however, once in Athens, the three get kidnapped and are taken hostages by the terrorists.



The three flight attendants (2000)

A scientist comes up with an invention that turns salt water into energy and then he is killed by the mafia. The three air hostesses find themselves in possession of a priceless cassette with all the details of the invention. They end up saving the day and handing the cassette to the police.