Is your safety at risk? Exhausted flight crews are working double shifts to deliver Amazon packages before your flight
In a story about Alaska Airlines flight attendants who rejected the collective bargaining agreement negotiated by their union, Seattle Newspaper The article points out that flight crew often work two jobs at once, which goes against rest regulations designed to limit their working hours with the airline to ensure they are fresh on board.
A flight attendant on the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 flight where a door stopper blew out in January had started work more than nine hours before departure.
A flight attendant on board Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 also worked as an Amazon Flex driver
That day, she got up at 5 a.m., worked two delivery shifts, and then headed to PDX airport around 2:30 p.m., ready to rescue some passengers
After the 2009 Colgan Air crash—a Newark-to-Buffalo flight that was blamed on pilot error in responding to stall warnings—Congress passed legislation requiring new safety measures.
- One was the 1,500-hour rule, which required more flight hours before a pilot could work for a commercial airline. But Colgan Air’s pilots had far more hours, and the rule didn’t require any commercial airline-style experience – just touch-and-gos in free air or even hours in a tethered hot air balloon – which increases the cost and time required to train to become a pilot.
- Much more important was increased rest periods for pilots, which are not only important on short-haul regional flights like the Colgan Air disaster. When a pilot flies a wide-body aircraft across several time zones to Europe or Asia, he may not only be tired but also suffer from jet lag.
Generally, duty hours are defined in 14 CFR 117. Total duty hours are generally less than the maximum allowed. For example, a pilot may be scheduled for 70 to 80 hours per month. In addition to legal requirements, there are also contractual requirements – for example, how many hours the airline must allow them to be “behind the door” of their hotel room before their next scheduled flight.
But what they do behind the door is up to them.. To be clear, there is plenty of “work time” for a pilot outside of regular duty hours, checking flight plans, weather, NOTAMs, details of the aircraft and its history, and more. And this often happens in space.
It’s also common for pilots to have a second career. I know many who work for insurance companies. When they’re behind the door on a break, they answer emails and may make phone calls for the insurance company. Should that even be allowed?
Commercial airline pilots in the United States are well paid. They are safety professionals. There are numerous restrictions on their behavior, such as limits on alcohol consumption – both in terms of blood alcohol levels and a time buffer “from bottle to gas pedal.” What they do in their free time is already restricted because it is not completely personal time.
It’s one thing if a flight attendant works as an Amazon delivery driver before starting her shift, but staffing with flight attendants is required for safety reasons. In the event of an emergency, they must evacuate passengers quickly.
JetBlue even locked the doors of the business class suites on some planes because the FAA decided to require an additional flight attendant on those planes to monitor whether the doors are locked during takeoff and landing. Typically, airlines are required to have one flight attendant for every 50 seats, but for certain service requirements, the requirement may be higher.
It is a different matter for Pilots to do things other than rest during the hotly contested mandatory rest periods. If rest is required for safety reasons, should pilots be required to do it?
