Originally Posted by
Mitch Vernon
I too work 24 hour shifts at a Central Queensland Helicopter Rescue base.
Like the NSW firefighters, I get to sleep at work. In a proper bed, at sealevel. Not in a big long tube at 36000 feet with a lot of ambient noise. The quality of sleep would be questionable.
We have a 15 minute response time during the day, therefore must be awake. Then being called out at midnight for a 5 - 6 hour task is hard work. Even though I may have had a few hours sleep. I have gone offline due to fatigue with plenty of "duty hours" remaining. Because I felt I was a danger to myself and the crew. Probably don't have that luxury at 36000 feet.
Thank you Mitch for giving context to the debate.
The effects on long term health are unknown-unknowns at 36,000'.
The effects of long term repeated exposure are also unknown.
Qantas need new aircraft, they need a direction that isn't inward looking, solely focused on unit cost reductions.