Commercial Fixed Wing
Flight Attendant Current
Communication Breakdown; Situational Awareness; Training / Qualification; Workload
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General Flight Cancelled / Delayed
Company Policy; Procedure; Human Factors
Upon arrival into ZZZZ we discovered the outbound crew's show time was not for another hour after landing time (hotel was 45-50 minutes from airport) and that we would remain with passengers on the aircraft. It was decided by our lead that the five most senior Flight Attendants (including our lead Flight Attendant) would disembark with the pilots and depart for the hotel; leaving four flight attendants remaining with passengers. While on the ground; we not only monitored and attended to the needs of almost 300 passengers on the aircraft; but also oversaw the catering and cleaning of the flight; both of which groups were unfamiliar with our procedures and required our assistance. At one point the Ground Representative began allowing passengers in small groups to get off the aircraft and stretch their legs at the bottom of the airstairs on the tarmac. Myself and the other three flight attendants remained on the aircraft [for two hours] until the outbound crew arrived.	As stated; the show time for crew taking over our flight was scheduled for an hour after our flight landed: this meant that it would be at least two hours before the departing crew would arrive to the aircraft. On the ground; our lead Flight Attendant made the decision to allow the five most senior Flight Attendants (including herself) to disembark the aircraft to go to the layover hotel; leaving the four most junior Flight Attendants onboard. The [company] Ground Representative assigned to the flight began allowing passengers in small groups to get off the aircraft to stretch.While FAR 121.393 states that a flight with passengers remaining onboard may be left with the minimum number of flight attendants rounded down; the lack of an appropriate number of flight attendants to ensure the complete safety and security of the close to 300 passengers on the flight represented a serious safety neglect. Furthermore; the lead Flight Attendant's decision to leave the remaining crew members onboard reflected extremely poor judgement and a lack of regard for the responsibilities and duties associated with her role on the aircraft. During the interlude between the crew's departure for the hotel and the arrival of the outbound crew; there was confusion surrounding the procedures for handling tasks such as opening aircraft doors to allow catering crews onboard; accommodating passenger requests while providing adequate coverage throughout the aircraft; and monitoring passengers when conflicting instructions were being given by ground personnel. My hope is that [company's] policy will be thoroughly reviewed following this situation and that flight attendants will be more effectively briefed on their rights and duties in cases where crews must remain with passengers onboard the aircraft.
Flight Attendant reported that four junior Flight Attendants were left to care for close to 300 passengers for two hours before the replacement crew arrived.