FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute

Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-11/18

Title and Subtitle: Evaluation of a Fatigue Countermeasures Training Program for Flight Attendants

Report Date: November 2011

Authors: Hauck EL, Avers KB, Banks JO, Blackwell LV

Abstract: There is a growing population of employees that work non-traditional hours in around-the-clock operations. Cabin crew/flight attendants are part of this population and work highly variable schedules that include extended duty days, time zone changes, night schedules, and on-demand calls.

These schedules conflict with the body's natural mechanisms for managing sleep and alertness, and often result in fatigue. Fatigue countermeasure training may be necessary for the health, well-being, and safety of workers. The current research evaluated a comprehensive fatigue countermeasure training program for flight attendants using a theoretically grounded taxonomy of training criteria.

Alternative evaluation strategies were also utilized to improve traditional pretest-posttest designs and provide convergent evidence of training effectiveness.

Key Words: Training, Flight Attendants, Cabin Crew, Education, Fatigue, Countermeasures

No. of Pages: 14