Proper Rest for Airline Crew & Saving Good Aviation U.S. Jobs
August 10, 2017
Increasing Rest from 8 to 10 Hours (Safety, Health and Equality: the #Fightfor10)
Aviation safety requires action to fight Flight Attendant fatigue. Science shows Flight Attendant fatigue exists and more rest is needed to combat it. A fix to provide Flight Attendants 10 hours minimum rest and a Fatigue Risk Management Plan (FRMP) will help us combat fatigue.
In 1994, the FAA issued guidance that Flight Attendant and Pilot rest should be the same. When pilot minimum rest was increased to 10 hours in 2014, Flight Attendant rest remained a mere 8-hour minimum rest requirement. This “rest” after up to 14 hours on duty, includes travel to the hotel, finding time to eat, preparing for sleep and doing the same in reverse before starting the next duty period of up to 14 hours. Opportunity for sleep is often 4-5 hours in this case.
Flight Attendants are safety sensitive professionals. Proper rest will ensure aviation’s first responders are able to fully respond to inflight emergencies, de-escalate conflict and serve effectively as aviation’s last line of defense. Fatigue exists and threatens aviation safety. Proper rest cannot wait. Flight Attendants and the traveling public need action on this now.
Saving U.S. Aviation Jobs from ‘Flags of Convenience”
H.R. 2150, protects U.S aviation jobs by preventing flag-of-convenience model airlines from undermining U.S aviation. This defends U.S. aviation workers from airlines “flagging” their operation in countries with weak labor laws and regulatory oversight leading to the outsourcing of U.S. aviation jobs. Over 100,000 good U.S. jobs in maritime were lost when this business model was introduced to shipping. The “Flags of Convenience Don’t Fly Here Act” upholds the letter and spirit of our Open Skies agreement with the European Union and protects good jobs in the United States.
Both of these provisions effecting aviation safety and preserving good jobs are included in the House version of the FAA Reauthorization Bill, H.R. 2997.
