Originally Posted by
Uplinker
@ Bananasbananas, We essentially agree with each other. But of your three hypothetical questions, the first and second are irrelevant - if a person is fatigued, they are fatigued - no matter what the reason. Of the third; if your sleeping preparations were diligently applied - black-out blinds in the bedroom etc, there should be no come-back - from a decent airline. If your neighbours were having a barbecue or a barking dog or neighbour's music kept you awake, that is perfectly legitimate reason for reporting unfit in the first place.
I put in a number of fatigue reports at a previous airline over the years, all of which were properly investigated, but medical intervention was never needed or requested. I reported fatigue and my level of fatigue, according to a comprehensive list of fatigue indications and descriptions, and the fatigue management team took it from there and looked at my rosters etc.
During a turn-around, a check from a doctor or medic would not be possible quickly, it would incur an even greater delay that would most probably stretch beyond the allowable discretion period for the rest of the aircrew. It is illegal to get airborne if you know beforehand that your flight will go beyond the allowable period of discretion.
Airlines know all this so they put pressure on the crew members to self declare, as per your three questions; (knowing that most won't bother), and also onto the Captain's shoulders, who is in a very difficult place, being responsible for the welfare of their crew but also the requirements of the airline and the potential financial consequences of a delayed flight.
The only thing you write that I might disagree relates to getting a medical check on the ground during a turnaround. A cabin crew member should be afforded the same priority as a passenger if they are not feeling well and a doctor can be summoned quite quickly at most airports I have operated into. If getting a doctor might incur further delay, that is another thing for the Commander to consider. Do crew numbers allow for the crew member to be stood down and positioned back (without medical exam) or would it be better to offload and leave him in the care of the Station Manager/Medics or wait. That is what we get paid the extra $50k per day for isn't it - to make decisions like that? Most airlines also provide a company 'phone so it would only take 5 minutes to get on the 'phone to Ops, explain the situation and spread the responsibility around a bit. 'Hello Ops, Bloggs has reported fatigued. We have called for a doc to examine him but not sure how long the doc will take to arrive/make a decision. We are ok on numbers to offload him but tight on FDP if we wait more than x minutes. Can you state your preference before I make my decision please?'