What are turnaround and layover flights? If you’re looking into a flight attendant career or if you simply overheard crew talking about their next flights here’s what you need to know about these flight types from a crew perspective. Let’s dive right into it.
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How A Flight Attendant Get His/Her Schedule
Normally once per month crews are emailed their roster for the upcoming month. That will include all the sectors the flight attendant will be working on for the following month. Also, in many airlines they’ll get to know which other crew they’ll be working with, as rarely it remains the same for more than 1 flight.
So to sum it up, here’s what a crew schedule or roster includes:
- The flights the crew will work on.
- Wether those flights are turnaround or layover flights.
- Rest days.
- Standby days.
- Crew pairings – Which other flight attendants they will work with.
- Aircraft type they will be working on.
With all this information the crew can then start planning their month accordingly. In particular preparing well for flights as turnaround or layovers require a different preparation both in suitcases and sleep.
What Are Turnaround Flights?
Turnarounds are without a doubt the most hated of the two duty types for a flight attendant. These are those flights where the crew make a round trip with the aircraft without a stay at their destination. In essence they go and come back immediately. The crew will stay onboard the plane and as soon as cleaning and catering procedures are complete they will return to the base.
Clearly this is the cheapest option for airlines and they will always try to pursue this option before granting a layover. However it’s not like the airline has a choice in some instances. If the duty time exceeds what is allowed by law, for safety reasons, the airline will be forced to organise a crew layover.
When I used to work as a flight attendant in Dubai, the furthest destinations I would fly to as a turnaround were Athens and Dhaka. These flights were between 4 and 5 hours long in each direction. They are really tough on the body and mind, which is why crew hate them.
What Makes Turnarounds So Tough?
What makes turnaround flights particularly tough from a flight attendant’s perspective are the return routes. This is particularly the case if your duty started at some very odd hour of the night. For instance, many turnarounds when I used to work in Dubai used to leave between midnight and 4AM returning to base at noon or later. On the return flight you will have to perform at your best while feeling the fatigue of the duty with fresh new passengers that do not care how long you have been awake or working. Passengers that expect and deserve the same high standard of service you provided on the outbound flight.
Another aspect that makes turnarounds tough, particularly those night departure ones, is getting adeguate rest. For a 4AM departure you’ll have to report for duty at about 2AM which means waking up at midnight. I think you might see where the issue lays. In order to wake up at midnight well rested you’ll have to get at least 4-5 hours of sleep, meaning you’ll have to sleep around 7PM.
One thing is sure, on these tough flights coffee and energy drinks are your best friends.
What Are Layover Duties?
Layovers on the other hand are flights where the crew stays at the destination and a new crew takes over the aircraft. The duration of the layover depends on many factors among which:
- Legal duty time limitations.
- Time zone limitations.
- Airline operational reasons.
For instance if you have flown 16 hours working on a flight you will need to legally be on the ground resting for a certain amount of time. Also depending on the number of time zones you have gone through the layover duration will either increase or decrease.
As for the operational reasons, this is all on the airline. For instance the carrier you work fore only operates a certain flight a couple of times a week but is obliged to grant a layover, which in some cases might also be quite long. It personally happened to me to have 48 hours in Tunis because flight frequency was only 3 times per week or 72 hours in Hong Kong.
You can easily see why these are crew’s favorite duty type. During the layover you are free to do what you prefer. Provided you stay within a 60 mile radius from the airport and don’t engage in dangerous activities.
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