‘All I Wanted Was A Diet Coke…..’: Flight Attendants Expose The Training They Have To Go Through. Why Does It Involve Beating Up A Body Opponent Bag?

You might think that training to be a flight attendant primarily involves learning how to pour coffee or hand out snacks. You’d be wrong.

In reality, the majority of flight attendant training involves learning a complex mix of safety procedures relevant to air travel. As noted by Daily Passport, this includes everything from flight regulations, evacuation drills, case scenarios, firefighting, and CPR to being able to spot signs of trafficking and dealing with intoxicated passengers.

Much of this education is done in a classroom. However, as noted in a recent viral video, there are a few crucial steps that happen outside of the classroom—and on the mats.

What’s Going On With This Flight Attendant Training?

In a video with over 360,000 views, TikTok user Madi Pera (@notmadipera) documents what she calls “self-defense day” for flight attendants.

The video shows various people in black shirts and pants taking swings at a body opponent bag.

A comment liked by Pera reads, “I know OO training from anywhere.” “OO” is common shorthand for SkyWest Airlines.

Is This Normal?

It’s actually fairly common for flight attendants to take self-defense courses.

The website for the Transportation Security Administration details what it calls a Crew Member Self Defense Training Program that is open to registration for active crew members of all domestic scheduled carriers.

According to the TSA, the program “provides four-hours of training to prepare active crew members of all domestic scheduled carriers for potential physical altercations both on and off the aircraft.” The program is offered free of charge.

These programs appear to have emerged in the aftermath of September 11th, 2001. According to TTD, the 2003 FAA Reauthorization Act mandated that airlines implement security training procedures for flight and cabin crew in order to better prepare them for potential threats onboard the aircraft. This is also the legislation that established the aforementioned Crew Member Self Defense Training Program.

Is All This Self-Defense Training Necessary?

In-flight incidents are still, thankfully, rare.

However, in recent years, there’s been a marked increase in what the FAA calls “Unruly Passengers.”

Prior to 2021, the FAA reported an average of between 500 and 1,000 unruly passenger incidents annually. Then, in 2021, the FAA reported nearly 6,000 unruly passenger incidents. Later research found that 72% of those incidents were related to mask compliance.

In the years since, unruly passenger incidents have gone down—but they’re still higher than they were before 2021. For example, there were 2,074, 2,096, and 1,621 unruly passenger incidents in 2023, 2024, and 2025, respectively.

The FAA website notes that unruly passengers can face jail time, travel restrictions, and fines. In fact, in 2025, $2.3 million in fines were levied against unruly passengers.

What Does This Self-Defense Training Involve?

In 2021, CNN detailed what some of this self-defense training looks like.

According to CNN, flight attendants are first taught a series of de-escalation techniques. This can prevent something minor, such as a passenger refusing to put their tray table up, becoming a major incident.

However, if passengers get violent, flight attendants are taught a variety of self-defense methods. CNN states that this includes defensive stances, strikes, and, as shown in Pera’s video, pokes to the eyes.

In general, these tactics are seen as a last resort. That said, given how many Unruly Passenger incidents there have been in recent years, flight attendants report satisfaction that they have the abilities to combat violent passengers if need be.

Commenters Share Their Thoughts

In the comments section, many flight attendants shared their own memories from this training. Many reminisced about “Bob,” the name commonly given to the body opponent bag shown in the video.

“This day came at the same time as the inevitable break up that every flight attendant goes through during training,” wrote a user.

“I got a lot of anger out in this portion of FA training,” added another.

“Is his name Bob in every airline?” asked a third.

“This was the best day of training for sure,” stated a further TikToker.

BroBible reached out to Pera via TikTok comment and Instagram direct message and SkyWest via email.