Q
QueenLatifly
I am a flight attendant with American Airlines. In the last year, American has begun scheduling "reduced rest" layovers which provide for only eight hours off duty. This means that, at best, I am getting 5-6 hours of sleep. This is not enough -- particularly when it is sandwiched between two 12-14 hour duty days. I find myself so fatigued that I am unable to perform my safety and security duties.
This "rest" period begins shortly after the aircraft parks at the gate and includes getting to the front of the terminal, going through customs if on an international flight, waiting for transportation, riding to the hotel, checking-in and getting to the room. I then repeat this in reverse the next morning. This leaves relatively little time for my head to be on a pillow.
Flight attendants are inflight first responders. Our duties include tending to ill passengers, using defibrillators, fighting inflight fires, evacuating an aircraft after an emergency landing and since 9/11, additional security duties. It was an alert American Airlines flight attendant who noticed Richard Reid attempting to light his shoe laces to ignite the bomb in his shoes. For those like us in safety and security sensitive professions, not being alert can make the difference between life and death.
Flight attendants from multiple carriers have recently come to Capitol Hill with stories of an increasing number of incidents where their off-duty period is reduced to eight hours, the minimum "reduced rest" allowed under the current Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR's). Flight attendant duty and rest rules state that flight attendants should have a minimum of nine hours off-duty that may be reduced to eight hours if the following rest period is ten hours. While these rules have been in place for almost a decade, only recently have carriers begun scheduling flight attendants for less than nine hours off. Previously, nine hours was the least amount of scheduled off-duty and the "eight hours reduced rest" gave air carriers flexibility in scheduling to allow for air traffic, weather and other delays. The occasional "reduced rest" layover is becoming the norm.
The FAA needs to revisit these rules and develop ones that are in keeping with data that is available such as that on circadian rhythms, the effects of sleep deprivation and the effects of time zones changes. Using this information, carriers will still have a high degree of productivity while providing flight attendants with sufficient rest to perform their duties.
