The Cabin Crew Stream at WATS Has a Lot to Say

At this year's World Aviation Training Summit (WATS), taking place 5–7 May 2026, the Cabin Crew Stream is addressing some of the most pressing questions in aviation training today. From how we select crew in the first place, to how we prepare them for the moments that count most.

Who Are We Actually Hiring?

Session 3 opens with Aleksandra Kapela of Symbiotics, whose presentation is titled Cabin Crew Selection: What Are We Doing and Where Are We Heading?

Pilot selection has become increasingly regulated and standardized across the industry. Cabin crew selection? Not so much. In Europe, for example, there are no widely adopted standards for cabin crew, despite their critical role in aircraft safety. And yet cabin crew turnover is significantly higher than in the cockpit, and the demands of the role are ever-growing.

Kapela's session draws on survey responses and first-hand feedback from airlines and operators to explore what a standardized, competency-based selection process could look like: balancing predictive power with real-world constraints.

Compliance Is Not the Finish Line

Session 7 brings Connor Beardmore to the stage with The Human Side of Technology: Redefining Training for the Next Generation. A former frontline firefighter and aviation professional, Beardmore spent the past year visiting airlines around the world, hearing the same frustrations repeated across accents and time zones.

His view is direct: "Compliance should never be treated as the finish line for training. It's the bare minimum we have to achieve. Our crew deserve tools that prepare them for real pressure, real decisions, and real emergencies — not just a certificate at the end of a course."

It's also a civic responsibility: "When you’re standing in a burning building with zero visibility or dealing with an engine failure a few hundred feet after takeoff, you don’t rise to the occasion; you fall back on whatever your training gave you. Those lessons, taught on what felt like an ordinary Monday morning, are the reason I’m still here today. That’s why I believe we have a responsibility to build training that genuinely prepares people for real‑world pressure, not just for passing an assessment."

VR From the Inside Out

Session 8 features Patrick Hejlesen, Chief Ground Instructor and Head of Virtual Reality Training at Sunclass Airlines. His session, Above and Beyond: A Small Airline's Real-World Journey with Virtual Reality Cabin Crew Training, is an honest account of what actually happened when a small airline committed to VR training over the past decade.

Attendees will gain honest insights into what works, what doesn’t, and how innovation can thrive when the distance between ideas and implementation is short.

"What we dreamed about 10 years ago we have now created," says Hejlesen. "Our presentation will take you through the past, the present and the future of VR and hopefully help you navigate through the endless possibilities with inspiring new technology."

When the Checklist Isn't Enough

Session 9 closes with Dr. Mizuki Urano presenting The Human Factor Behind a Successful Evacuation — From Compliance to Competence. The session examines the JL516 accident in January 2024, where crew managed an evacuation when standard procedures and communication systems failed.

"While JL516 in 2024 has been hailed as a miraculous evacuation, it has also been noted as one of the longest evacuation times recorded in a survivable aircraft accident," says Dr. Urano. "This presentation will, for the first time, shed light on areas for improvement in emergency evacuation policies, procedures, and cabin crew training that were not addressed in the accident investigation interim report."

The session draws on training adaptations introduced in Japan following the event, with practical implications for how the industry prepares crew for real emergencies. The session also explores the cognitive and emotional demands of independent decision-making, as well as the impact of severe time pressure, and managing passenger behavior before, during, and after evacuation.

Are these Cabin Crew sessions on your must-see list? Join us at WATS this year, so you won't miss these and more. Register below.