Are flight attendants plagued by fatigue?

 When flying home from Dubai earlier this week, I overheard a cabin attendant comment that she had “just got in on a flight from Auckland”. Immediately, the rest of my row was in shock. “So, you’re doing over 18 hours of air travel in a row?” I asked. She admitted that this was a typical route for her to do, with many multinational airlines having similar work schedules.

Even though you couldn’t tell that the crew were exhausted, it raised a lot of questions amongst those around me. How could you do such a high-pressured job when you’re working such long hours all the time?

With gruelling schedules, constant shifts between time zones and the pressure to remain alert and prepared for crisis at all time, there is no wonder why cabin crew often do not stay in the job for very long

With flight crew’s exhaustion in mind, EasyJet has previously cancelled flights on the basis that cabin crew were too tired. Even though this caused outrage amongst travellers, it highlighted a key issue that faces airline staff on a regular basis. With gruelling schedules, constant shifts between time zones and the pressure to remain alert and prepared for crisis at all time, there is no wonder why cabin crew often do not stay in the job for very long.

In a time where many countries have strict labour laws or regulations, there is a grey area as to where cabin crew fit into these rules. By constantly travelling around the globe, there is often confusion over where cabin crew are actually based. This means that there is not necessarily a rigid guideline as to how many hours cabin crew can work. Since many are often only paid when the plane is in the air, there can be a requirement to do more flights to simply make ends meet.

For many, the unpredictable schedule can interfere with their personal lives. When on call, flight attendants can be expected to be ready to fly with very short notice. It can force them to live closer to the airport, or even stay in the airport when on call if they live too far away from work.

Perhaps the next time you fly, it might be worth treating the crew around you with extra kindness

Since flight crew are expected to inform the airline if they do not feel fit to fly, questions can be raised over whether airlines are not setting stringent limits on how much staff should fly. Rather than having instances where cabin crew feel unfit to carry out their duty, perhaps airlines should be considering making sure that staff have enough down time between jobs to feel more confident in their work.

Often, we forget about the fact that the role of a flight attendant is such a difficult job. From the intense safety training to dealing with difficult passengers, the work airline staff do ensures that we fly to and from our destinations with as much ease as possible. Perhaps the next time you fly, it might be worth treating the crew around you with extra kindness. After all, in such an intense job, the way we treat those who help us make our journeys around the world can make an immense difference.