Can airline cabin crew really not talk while on oxygen?

Question

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7581492.stm

A Ryan Air plane lost pressure and had to do an emergency decent - passengers complained that they heard nothing from the staff/crew till it was all over.

O'Leary (owner of Ryan Air), said this was fine because crew couldn't make anouncements with their own masks on.

Scuba divers can have breathing equipment that lets them use microphones (see any underwater documentry) - is the cabin staffs equipment on Airlines really so primative that they can't do anything similar??

Also can any one confirm that all other airlines would do the same?

Answer 1

i dont know but am asolutly terrified now as i fly with ryanair in 3 weeks to barcelona  

Answer 2

Flying With Ryanair To Alicante [near Costa Blanca]

Im Going To Wirte A Will....Just In Case....

Answer 3

During an emergency such as Decompression, the drop out oxygen masks will automatically deploy and you have to wear it. Cabin crew wears this and refrains from talking in order to get the full oxygen their body needs. The scuba diver's breathing equipment is totally different as they are more fitted and secured and hard. The ones on the aircrafts when you breathe on it, its not totally secured and when you talk small amounts of oxygen in take will cause people to be unconscious and its too dangerous. I hope this somehow helped :) Some types of aircraft, for oxygen masks, it only activates when you pull your own masks,they dont release oxygen unless you inhale...

Answer 4

With the loss of cabin pressure, the flight deck is far to busy and involved with getting the situation under control for them to make immediate announcements.  Their first priority is the safety of the passengers and crew.  The flight attendants are trained to get on oxygen FIRST, then await word from the flight deck.  The only thing you should have heard from your flight attendants was to 'get your oxygen masks on'...and they wouldn't even do that until they were secure and had theirs on.  They would be of no use to anyone, unconscious.

No doubt, when the flight deck had the aircraft stabilized, had assessed the problem, and determined his next course of action, he contacted the cabin staff first, and then made his announcement to the passengers.

During emergency situations like this, it does NOONE any good to expect the captain to waste time explaining what is going on, when those critical moments could be used assessing and correcting the problem.  The fight attendants also have priorities to be concerned with, and second guessing the flight deck, then passing along bogus information is a value to noone.

As for the masks themselves...the FLIGHT deck oxygen masks are outfitted with microphones...but the above explaination still applies.  As for the cabin crew oxygen masks, they are the same as the passengers masks.