ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews laboratory and field studies related to the duty hours of aircrew. It examines the emergence of models that attempt to predict the suitability or unsuitability of schedules. Sleep after a westward flight is normally consolidated into one sleep period per day. The recovery of the sleep process after five time-zone transitions is quicker after westward than after eastward flights. Sleep disruption is not only a problem on long-haul operations across multiple time zones. A feature of many short-haul operations involving domestic and intracontinental flights is the requirement to provide a service to cover the early-morning rush-hour period. Sometimes aircrew may be able to obtain some sleep in the form of a short nap during the flight itself. A critical issue for aircrew operating many different types of schedules is their ability to adapt to duties at a different time of day or in a new time zone.
