B737-300
Flight Attendant Current
Physiological - Other; Situational Awareness
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness / Injury
Flight Crew Diverted; Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition
Company Policy; Aircraft
While at cruising altitude; we began a rapid descent from 35;000 feet to 10;000 feet due to pressurization problems. All 3 flight attendants had been seated in our jumpseats due to earlier communication with our Captain who was concerned with bad weather. We were told to lock up our galleys and remain seated while we diverted. Once our galleys were quickly secured we sat in our jumpseats. We had a rush of cold air in the cabin followed by thick fog. All 3 flight attendants suffered ear pain; sinus pain; dizziness; light headedness; and stress. Passengers were screaming with ear pain; and many call buttons were pushed. We didn't prepare the cabin for an emergency landing; but remained seated as instructed by our Captain. After all passengers deplaned; the 'A' Flight Attendant called Scheduling for our crew to be replaced. After a very helpful Crew Scheduler put us on hold; and he brought a (base) Inflight Supervisor into the phone call. The Supervisor wanted to know if any of us would like medical help. We all said no because we believed our symptoms were due to our decompression and the hypoxia that we suffered and nothing more severe that would require medical assistance. We were asked if we had prepared for an emergency landing. We hadn't prepared due to our Captain wanting us to remain seated. The Supervisor then told us that we had 2 choices: call out sick on line or take leave with no pay. The 'A' Flight Attendant opted to call out sick on line as she felt she was unable to continue on the pairing. The 'B' and 'C' flight attendants opted to remain unsafely on the pairing to avoid being penalized by the company. A third option! If you experience a decompression and a diversion; it is unsafe to continue with your flight attendant duties. A Flight Attendant should be given an option to be pulled with pay and with no penalty.
A B737 had a rapid depressurization at FL350 which caused ear; sinus pain; and hypoxia to the flight attendants while the aircraft descended rapidly and diverted to an enroute airport.