美国国家公共电台 NPR--Flight attendants to get more rest time under a new FAA rule

Flight attendants to get more rest time under a new FAA rule

Transcript¹

Airlines will need to provide flight attendants with at least 10 hours of rest time in between work shifts, the same as amount of time as pilots, under a new rule announced Tuesday by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The announcement of the extra hour of rest comes after a rough two-and-a-half years for flight attendants, who have had to deal with a sharp increase in unruly passenger incidents during the pandemic, including a rising number of verbal and physical attacks on them.

Current rules require airlines to give flight attendants at least nine hours of rest in between shifts, but it can be as little as eight hours in certain circumstances. When factoring in travel time to and from airports and overnight accommodations, that can leave flight attendants working on as little as five or six hours of sleep.

"I can tell you firsthand that well-rested crew members are important to safety," said acting² FAA administrator³ Billy Nolen, a former airline pilot, in announcing the signing of the new rule at a news conference at Washington, D.C.'s Reagan National Airport.

"As any pilot can tell you, we cannot fly the plane without the safety expertise⁴ and support of flight attendants," Nolen added. "Flight attendants are trained to take action during emergencies, administer first aid, conduct evacuations, (and) manage medical emergencies.

"And as we've seen too often recently, they are on the front lines of responding to unruly passengers who could threaten the safety of the flight and other passengers," he said.

More than two dozen flight attendants and their union representatives joined Nolen at Reagan National for the announcement, with many noting that fatigue⁵ among flight attendants has long been a problem in the airline industry.

"This was a long time coming," said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents nearly 50,000 flight attendants at 19 airlines. "This was a safety risk and a loophole that we had to close."

Nelson says fatigue and health studies have "determined⁶ that not only was fatigue rampant⁷ among our ranks ... but the lack of rest was contributing to health problems," including increased risk of cancer, as well as cardiac and respiratory issues.

And Nelson says the pandemic has significantly increased stress and fatigue among flight attendants, saying they "have to deal with longer days and shorter nights, with the reduction in schedules throughout this pandemic, and also all of the combative⁸ passengers they've had to face on not enough rest."

While some regional airlines are struggling with a shortage of flight attendants, as well as pilots and other staff, the new rule is not expected to stretch airline staffing so thin as to lead to flight delays and cancellations. Airlines across the industry have ramped⁹ up hiring over the last year to meet the a surge in air travel demand.

The new 10-hour rest rule goes into effect in 90 days, and comes as several airlines, including American, Southwest, and United, are in the midst of negotiating new union contracts with their flight attendants.

Flight attendant unions have been lobbying for increased rest time for decades, but they were left out of legislation that increased the minimum amount of rest time for pilots several years ago.

Congress finally mandated¹⁰ that the FAA develop a regulation increasing the minimum amount of rest time for flight attendants in the 2018 reauthorization act, but the Trump¹¹ administration never did. The Biden administration proposed the new rule last fall, with the FAA citing reports that there was the "potential for fatigue to be associated with poor performance of safety and security related tasks."

In public comments on the proposal, the industry group Airlines for America, which represents the seven largest U.S. airlines, said the 10-hour rest requirement could sharply increase labor¹² and training expenses and could cost its members more than $750 million over 10 years.

In a statement Tuesday, the group said the safety of all crew members and passengers is the industry's top priority.

"Having rested and alert flight attendants who are prepared to carry out their responsibilities, including cabin safety and other duties, is critical to this goal," the group said. "This is why we continue to support scientifically validated¹³ and data-driven countermeasures to prevent fatigue."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

3 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

4 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

5 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

8 combative   

adj.好战的；好斗的

参考例句：

• Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative tone.奥巴马总统近来采取了一种更有战斗性的语调。
• She believes that women are at least as combative as are.她相信女性至少和男性一样好斗。

9 ramped   

土堤斜坡( ramp的过去式和过去分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• With the arrival of George Lucas, the pace has ramped up. 随着乔治·卢卡斯的到来，速度大大加快。
• They also sold corporate bonds as the global financial crisis ramped up. 在全球金融危机加剧之际，他们还抛售了公司债券。

10 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

11 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

12 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

13 validated   

v.证实( validate的过去式和过去分词 )；确证；使生效；使有法律效力

参考例句：

• Time validated our suspicion. 时间证实了我们的怀疑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The decade of history since 1927 had richly validated their thesis. 1927年以来的十年的历史，充分证明了他们的论点。 来自辞典例句