Flight Attendants Rally for Rest on Capitol Hill

Flight Attendants rallied at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday in support of 10 hours of minimum rest for all Flight Attendants and stopping the outsourcing of jobs, followed by visiting the offices of numerous Members of Congress to discuss these important issues on Capitol Hill. Representatives Michael E. Capuano (D-MA), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), and Rick Larsen (D-WA) joined the rally before office visits.

Flight Attendants are entrusted with the safety, health, and security of our passengers on a daily basis. Studies commissioned by Congress make it clear that more rest should be mandated for Flight Attendants to combat fatigue. Current federal regulation "rest" rules provide only 8 hours after a 14 hour day. But that "rest" time includes passenger deplaning, travel to and check in at their hotel, preparing for the next day, travel back to the airport, transiting security, crew briefing and safety checks, passenger boarding and finally the aircraft release from the gate. This likely means 4-5 hours of sleep before another long day, if all else goes well.

Seven Flight Attendant fatigue studies commissioned by Congress have concluded that the best way to combat fatigue is to get more rest. That's why Flight Attendants are leading the Fight for 10.

Learn more here.

Flight Attendants also pressed Congress to enforce our Open Skies agreements. Right now, Gulf carriers (Emirates, Eithad, Qatar) are heavily subsidized by their countries’ treasuries. 1.2 million U.S. jobs are at risk if Gulf carrier cheating continues. We're calling on Congress and President Trump to stand up for U.S. workers.