9.26.25 – Updated Fatigue Risk Management Plan

Updated Fatigue Risk Management Plan

Friday, September 26, 2025

Yesterday, the company announced updates to the Flight Attendant Fatigue Risk Management Plan (FRMP) which will go into effect on October 1, 2025.

APFA initiated a Letter of Agreement in 2023 that required the company to meet with the Union to discuss the FRMP and to receive feedback on modifications to the plan. APFA National Leaders participated in multiple meetings with the company’s Safety and Inflight Departments in accordance with the letter of agreement.

The updates provide more clearly defined standards and processes for addressing Flight Attendant fatigue removals. The policy contains commitments from the company to provide pay protections to Flight Attendants for fatigue removals that are substantiated as operationally driven.

Important Points:

•  An operational event is defined as a significant and unusual operational disruption or sleep disruption that cannot be resolved while staying at a company provided hotel.
• If you experience an operational event and want to be removed, you should call crew scheduling/tracking to initiate removal. You must state that your removal is for fatigue. Do not use ECS for a fatigue removal.
• The initial removal will be coded with a SK removal code, as well as an FT marker indicating a fatigue removal.
• You must submit a fatigue report within 48 hours of the removal. See the Flight Attendant Fatigue Process and Reporting Guide on Crew Portal for step-by-step instructions, which may be found here.
• The company’s Fatigue Risk Management Team will review the event and if determined to be operationally driven, the SK code will be changed to a pay protected XU code. The hours charged to your sick bank will be restored. If there were not enough sick hours to cover the initial removal, the XU coding will ensure pay protection for the fatigue removal. Attendance points will not be assessed with an XU coded, operationally driven fatigue removal.
• If the removal is determined to not be operationally driven, the SK removal will not be recoded and the absence will be subject to the company’s attendance policy and you may accrue attendance points. No pay protections will apply, nor will sick bank hours be restored, for a removal that is determined to not be operationally driven.
• You may review the full Flight Attendant Fatigue Risk Management Plan as well as the Reporting Guide here.

In Solidarity,

Julie Hedrick
APFA National President

Larry Salas
APFA National Vice President

Andrew Rhinehart
APFA National Safety & Security Chair

Jeff Petersen
APFA National Contract Chair

Marti McMillan
APFA National Scheduling Chair