An American Airlines passenger claims a flight attendant on a recent domestic flight fell asleep for a “good 2-3 minutes” during a critical phase of flight as the plane was taxiing to the runway and then during takeoff.
Taking to the popular frequent flyer forum website Flyer Talk, the passenger recounted their experience of suddenly noticing that the flight attendant was “passed out” in their jumpseat.
The flight attendant had just performed the safety demonstration and was strapped into their jumpseat in readiness for departure when the passenger noticed that the crew member’s eyes were shut and their head was “bobbing around”.
“They were asleep for a good 2-3 minutes, with their head bobbing around and their eyes shut,” the frequent flyer explained. “They woke up when the pilot rang their call button and then immediately fell back asleep until we took off. I took two photos, although I have no intention of sharing them publicly, since I don’t want to shame the individual FA.”
Although the passenger isn’t willing to share the photos of the flight attendant, they did write to American Airlines to explain what had happened during the flight. In reply, the passenger says they received a boilerplate AI-written customer service response which didn’t address the complaint.
Now, the passenger is wondering how to follow up their complaints, explaining: “This is tricky. I don’t want or need compensation, and I don’t want to get the flight attendant fired. I do want AA to acknowledge that the behavior is unacceptable and that their service levels aren’t up to what they’re supposed to be.”
If American Airlines does indeed decide to investigate precisely what occurred on that flight, then it is likely to take a very dim view of the flight attendant’s alleged behavior.
Takeoff is a critical phase of flight and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires flight attendants to be fully alert aware of the their surroundings so as to be able to respond in the event of an emergency.
Last week, it emerged that another Dallas Fort Worth-based flight attendant had been fired when a colleague caught her shutting her eyes while sitting in a spare flight in the middle of the seat.
Although the ex-flight attendant says she wasn’t sleeping, the best efforts of the flight attendant union failed to stop the airline from terminating her.
As the frequent flyer on Flyer Talk acknowledges, flight attendants have an “extremely hard job” and its can be a physically exhausting profession.
In 2022, the FAA attempted to address concerns of flight attendant fatigue by implementing a law that guarantees flight attendants a minimum 10-hour rest period between duty days.
Until the law changes, flight attendants would normally only get nine hours of rest between duty days, but in certain circumstances, this rest period could be reduced to just eight hours. Union leaders warned safety was being jeopardized because flight attendants were flying fatigued.
The rulemaking applies to flight attendants who are scheduled to work a 14-hour duty day or less, which typically covers most domestic flights.
The law was initially approved in 2018 but under the Trump-era administration, the rulemaking kept on getting delayed. The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) which had campaigned for 28 years to increase rest periods for crew members hailed the new law as a major safety win for the industry.
Although the law goes some way to address flight attendant fatigue, the minimum rest rules aren’t as generous as many European countries and US-based flight attendants are typically allowed to fly a lot more hours each month that their peers across the Atlantic.
Matt’s takeUnfortunately, flight attendants falling asleep on their jumpseat isn’t unheard of, especially at the end of a busy overnight long-haul duty. Generally speaking, though, daytime duty days should be a lot easier to manage, and falling asleep in full view of customers is a major concern.
In this case, the flight attendant could well find themselves in a lot of hot water if the airline finds out their identity.
