Jet lag
Body clock out of step with local time after crossing time zones — the long-haul crew's occupational hazard, and a skill to manage.
Definition
Jet lag is the temporary misalignment between your internal circadian rhythm and the local day after rapid travel across several time zones, producing daytime sleepiness, night-time wakefulness, poor concentration and digestive upset. Eastward travel is generally harder than westward because the body clock delays more readily than it advances. For crew it is rarely a single event; it is a rolling state across a month of alternating destinations.
What it means for you
Long-haul crew do not beat jet lag so much as manage it, and the professional approach differs from a holidaymaker's: on a short layover you often stay on base time rather than adapting, on a long one you switch deliberately, and you use light, caffeine and naps as tools rather than reacting to how you feel. Poorly managed jet lag is the direct route to fatigue, sick calls and, over years, the health effects covered in the sleep guide. The jet-lag guide on this site is written from crew practice.
In practice
A Dubai-based crew member on a 24-hour New York layover may sleep on Dubai time and never adapt; the same crew on a 72-hour Sydney layover will switch to local time and pay for it on the way home.
Go deeper
Related terms
4 terms- Body clockCrew lifeYour internal circadian rhythm, which FTL rules recognise through the window of circadian low and which a flying roster constantly fights.
- FatigueCrew lifeReduced alertness from sleep loss and circadian disruption — a regulated safety issue with a reporting system you are obliged to use.
- Ultra-long-haulFlight operationsThe longest scheduled flights, beyond roughly 14-16 hours, flown with augmented crew and mandatory bunk rest.
- Rest periodRoster & schedulingThe uninterrupted time free of all duties that must separate two duties: 12 hours at base and 10 away under EASA, 10 hours under the FAA.