FC5332(C) - Fitness to fly

Initial Report

As a Commander, in recent months I have had to offload crew members on 3 occasions due to being unfit to fly, both pilots and cabin crew. On all occasions it was due to cold symptoms, which whilst weren’t that obvious at report time, manifested themselves throughout the subsequent sectors leading to an offload part way through the day.

There are 3 issues I feel need addressing; Commanders responsibility for crew members fitness to fly. Assessing a crew members fitness is subjective, as a cold can vary in severity and can be hidden well during the briefing. Asking the crew member if they are ft will inevitably lead to a ‘yes’ – and as captains are not doctors it is difficult to make a judgement. We need clear guidance from the Company that the Commander’s decision will be final and non-punitive to both parties.

1. Perceived pressures from the Company. While the Company says it has a sickness policy and crew will be paid, cabin crew in particular will not receive any extra remuneration for the duty if they are sick – and this was quoted to me as a reason for not calling sick for the duty as ‘they didn’t have many hours that month as it was and couldn’t afford it’. There is also the threat of an interrogation from management depending on the individuals sickness record. The Commander is then under considerable pressure and may have to argue with a crew who may consider themselves ft even when they are clearly not – but as before this is subjective.
2. Inadequate education of crew on the risks of flying while unfit. In the case of the pilot offload, he was unaware that flying with blocked ears could have serious consequences when it comes to burst eardrums etc. I feel that time should be spent during initial training/induction establishing the company culture re sickness and how various ailments that might be mild on the ground can be very different in the air.
3. The Company often stays quiet on such matters as they obviously don’t want to ‘encourage’ sickness, but I have seen a definite trend of crew reporting when unfit and offloads during the duty, which creates additional problems.

CHIRP Comment

CHIRP Cabin Crew Advisory Board Comment –

If you are feeling unwell, please consider; Am I fit to do my job for the whole duty? What’s the impact of me operating when I’m not fit to do so? What effect will flying have on my health, since it could exacerbate an existing illness? Don’t expect your SCCM or Captain to make the decision for you, if you are offloaded the duty will depending on your operator probably still be classed as an absence. As the reporter states ‘Captains are not doctors’, it is a personal assessment to evaluate whether or not you are ‘fit’ to operate as cabin crew.

The CAA stipulates in MED.A.020 Decrease in medical fitness: Cabin crew members shall not perform duties on an aircraft and, where applicable, shall not exercise the privileges of their cabin crew attestation when they are aware of any decrease in their medical fitness, to the extent that this condition might render them unable to discharge their safety duties and responsibilities.

Sickness and absence days are routinely tracked (as is customary in all businesses) and operators will have various policies, which are detailed in your terms and conditions. Both cabin crew and flight crew can feel pressurised to operate when they are feeling unwell and CHIRP frequently receives reports related to sickness policies and this topic was also discussed in the editorial of CCFB edition 79. CHIRP has expressed and will continue to voice its concerns to the UK CAA regarding absence policies.

CHIRP Air Transport Advisory Board Comment – 

Although fitness to operate is a personal obligation, as the ultimate arbiter for the safety of the flight, CHIRP feels that captains clearly have an operational and moral responsibility as the final barrier not just for the safety of the operation but also to save people from themselves or deal with situations when they don’t realise they are unfit to operate – ultimately, peoples’ fitness to operate has relevance not only to the flight’s safety if they can’t conduct their duties but also for their personal safety and well-being. That being said, captains offloading crew members if they suspect they are unfit to fly must be done circumspectly given that captains are not specifically qualified to make such decisions for others. If someone is clearly not functioning well enough then that’s one thing, but if someone is just a bit ‘under the weather’ or has a minor ailment that they are happy to continue with but the captain is not, there is potential for all sorts of disputes about medical judgements. In this respect, it’s important that captains are supported by medical help and guidance. There are various third-party medical services that some airlines subscribe to depending on their chosen provider, and these are important sources of professional assistance in supporting the decisions made by captains so that they don’t have to shoulder the burden themselves when things may not be clear-cut. Aeromedical physiology is an element of pilot education and licencing so we’re genuinely surprised that a pilot would not know about the risks of flying with a cold. Cabin Crew are not licenced and their aeromedical training varies from company to company but, although they might perhaps not have the same level of knowledge, they should also be well aware of the risks of flying with colds etc. A minor snuffle might not be a significant risk, but operating with a heavy cold would of course not be a good idea. Ultimately, we acknowledge that there are huge financial and perceived adverse company policy pressures on crews to fly if they are unfit and so third-party oversight from captains is appropriate in applicable circumstances and must be supported by the companies.