Red-eye
A flight that departs late at night and arrives in the morning, worked through the body's circadian low; capped more tightly by FTL tables.
Definition
A red-eye is an overnight flight departing late evening and landing the next morning — classically a US west-to-east transcontinental, but also the many Gulf-to-Europe and intra-Asia sectors timed to arrive at breakfast. Flight time limitation tables treat night duties more strictly because they run through the window of circadian low (roughly 02:00–06:00 body-clock time): under EASA a duty in that window is limited to around 11 hours rather than 13.
What it means for you
Red-eyes are where fatigue accumulates fastest, because you work through the hours your body reserves for sleep and then try to rest in daylight. Rostering rules limit how many consecutive night duties you can fly, and the guidance on sleep banking and controlled naps exists for these sectors specifically. Many US contracts pay a night premium; most European ones do not.
In practice
A Qatar Airways Doha–London departure just after midnight lands at breakfast time with a crew who have been awake since the previous afternoon; the same crew's return sector the next evening is what the 24-hour layover is really for.
Go deeper
Related terms
4 terms- FatigueCrew lifeReduced alertness from sleep loss and circadian disruption — a regulated safety issue with a reporting system you are obliged to use.
- Body clockCrew lifeYour internal circadian rhythm, which FTL rules recognise through the window of circadian low and which a flying roster constantly fights.
- Flight duty periodRoster & schedulingThe regulated window from report for a flying duty to engines off after the last sector; the core limit protecting crew from fatigue.
- Jet lagCrew lifeBody clock out of step with local time after crossing time zones — the long-haul crew's occupational hazard, and a skill to manage.