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With new, more fuel-efficient aircraft operating long-haul routes, the prospect of 20-hour-plus flights has become all the more real. For cabin crew, this could mean duties of over 24 hours. Just how do cabin crew deal with jet lag after working long-haul flights? Let’s learn more in this guide.
Jet lag is common for flight attendants operating long-haul international routes, and it is certainly not easy to deal with, especially when crossing numerous time zones. However, there are ways to prepare pre-flight, during the flight, and post-flight to mitigate the effects of jet lag and prepare for the next flight. The airlines also have systems in place to enable pilots and cabin crew to fly safely, even when they are experiencing jet lag.
Scheduling To Fly Safely
Trips are often scheduled in opposite directions, e.g. London-Tokyo-London, followed by London-New York- London and vice versa. It is thought that traveling west is easier than east, so crew rosters often reflect that. Cabin crew might operate back-to-back US flights with a minimum rest of 10 hours, down route and at base, followed by a trip east with 48 hours off in between and down route. Jet lag is considered easier because the body’s natural circadian rhythm is better at delaying sleep than trying to advance it. Traveling west expands time and is easier to adapt to.
When traveling east, days are compressed, so for example, traveling from London via Singapore to Sydney and returning over a ten-day period, we can lose days due to time changes. It is more difficult for the body to adapt to going to sleep earlier than usual. The body clock has a longer day-night cycle than 24 hours, so traveling east means gaining time, which causes the body more disruption.
Airlines now must have a Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS), and there are strict Flight Time Limitations (FTLs) for pilots and cabin crew. FTLs have to be followed, and they dictate minimum periods of rest and duty time to remain legal and safe to operate. The FRMS identifies and controls the fatigue risks and ensures that the pilots and cabin crew perform at adequate levels of alertness.
What Is Jet Lag?
Jet lag, desynchronosis, or trans-meridian circadian dysrhythmia is cumulative for long-haul cabin crew. It disrupts the body clock and circadian rhythm when flying across multiple time zones. Long-haul flights often cross more than three time zones and each time zone crossed needs 24 hours to recover from it.
Symptoms of jet lag include insomnia, irritability, excessive daytime sleepiness, nausea, and gastrointestinal issues. It lessons’ attention, can lead to a lack of judgment and decision-making skills and affects short-term memory, which is not ideal when working in a safety-critical environment. Cabin crew members are highly susceptible to jet lag because their jobs require them to regularly travel across time zones.
In training, crew are taught ways to manage fatigue to the best of their ability while still being able to deal with any emergency situation. Consistent jet lag can affect their health and job performance, making it crucial for them to manage their rest and sleep patterns carefully. Studies have shown that cabin crew have higher levels of cortisol in their system compared to ground crew and long-term disturbed sleep is often the outcome.
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Coping Strategies
When it comes to how cabin crew manage jet lag, everyone is slightly different. In general, they find out what works for them. One of the most important things is to drink lots of water; a minimum of 0.25 liters per hour in the air is recommended, and most airlines supply their crew with bottled water. Coffee is ok once in a while to stay awake, but it is important to stay hydrated. Eating lightly before and during a flight is a good idea, as crew meals can be heavy and salty. After the flight, natural foods are always best instead of comfort food, which can be tempting.
Cabin crew tend to follow the sun. So, if landing in the daylight, they will try and stay awake on local time and sleep at a normal nighttime. This doesn’t work for everyone and some stay ‘on the clock’, meaning at home-base time. In this case, the crew might be found in a 24-hour hotel gym or on a night tour, but it can also be disorientating. It is a good idea to adjust to daylight and go for a walk, even if exhausted.
Jet lag is cumulative and often is worse after a multi-sector trip especially, so the aim is to rest as much as possible after a trip and sleep whenever possible. It takes 48 hours to fully recover from jet lag completely, by which time, most crew are preparing for the next trip. It is also a good idea to sleep and allow for recovery on off days and not schedule too many chores.
Crew Rest Areas
Most long-haul aircraft have two crew rest areas, one for the pilots and one for cabin crew. They contain bunks for crew rest but can be quite claustrophobic and are either in the hold or near the tail for the cabin crew. There are usually around six to eight bunks, which can be side by side but are mostly in an up and down configuration. Each bunk has a seatbelt, curtain and a pillow and blanket, but many crew take their own travel-size items so they are more comfortable. Some take mini hot water bottles as the aircraft can be very cold.
Crew rest is usually between one and three hours, depending on the length of the flight, and there are two rest periods so that the crew can change over mid-flight. It can be difficult to sleep on demand, especially when you are trying to stay awake during a night flight. In this case, some crew just try to rest and watch a movie or listen to music. A sleep or rest of 45 minutes to 90 minutes is best for resetting the body clock.
With newer long-haul aircraft, like the Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787, there are some benefits that help crews manage fatigue and jet lag better. These include a lower cabin altitude of between 6,000 and 8,000 feet, higher humidity and better crew rest areas. There is also cleaner air through filtration, and LED lighting and larger windows that help lower fatigue levels. Advanced lighting systems also allow the body clock to set to its destination.
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The Future Of Long-Haul Flights
In recent years, we have seen that newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft with longer range have enabled longer, more direct flights. Previously, flights were a maximum of fourteen and a half hours. 
Singapore Airlines has two of the longest commercial nonstop flights on its Airbus A350-900ULR, with its Singapore to New York route and vice versa at 18 hours and 40 minutes.
Xiamen Airlines has recently beaten Singapore Airlines’ record for the longest flight, operating a flight in October this year of 19 hours and 20 minutes from New York to Fuzhou in Southern China. Turkish Airlines is planning direct flights between Istanbul and Sydney next year, at around 17 hours, and also to Melbourne in 2027.
Qantas has been launching its ‘Project Sunrise’ flights, which are upward of 19 hours between Sydney and London and New York. The airline currently flies from Perth to London in 17 hours and 45 minutes. An Air New Zealand flight from Auckland to New York is around 17 hours and 30 minutes, but can take anywhere between 15 and 18 hours depending on the weather.
In Conclusion
Jet lag is unpleasant for most people after long-haul trips. For cabin crew with busy schedules flying all over the world, crossing multiple time zones, it can be difficult to deal with and is cumulative over time. It can lead to lower performance, sleep difficulties, and digestive issues. It can take a day per time zone crossed to recover fully, by which time, many long-haul cabin crew will be preparing for their next trip.
Now, with longer flights of over 20 hours, it can mean that cabin crew duties stretch to over 24 hours. This means extra rest periods prior to, post-flight, and en route. An airline can carry extra (augmented) crew to use during crew rest periods and still ensure safety. Crew rest areas on newer aircraft, such as the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner, are better designed to help crew rest more and be more conducive to sleep.
Cabin crew can only mitigate risks and manage fatigue, but with these longer duties ahead, they must also seek more solutions. Augmented crew and larger crew rest facilities may be an option, or more days off for recovery between trips. There may be a better way to schedule such trips. Of course, at this early stage, we don’t know what working these long hours will have on the body, but only time will tell.
