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A flight attendant reported feeling ill while at cruise on an out and back flight. Then she was reminded that her company had pilots use pressurization low flow to save fuel. She felt better after asking for increased air flow.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1253844 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201504 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.ARTCC |
| State Reference | US |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Airbus 318/319/320/321 Undifferentiated |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Pressurization System |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Flight Attendant (On Duty) |
| Qualification | Flight Attendant Current |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness |
Narrative:
I felt extraordinarily tired and somewhat airsick for much of flight to airport ZZZ. It wasn't due to turbulence; and I was feeling unwell enough to not remember that per my company's recent instructions; the pilots had probably turned down the airflow in the cabin. When I was feeling even sicker on the return flight; I mentioned my condition to the purser. She reminded me of our company's fuel and cost saving measure to lower the airflow in the cabin until flight attendants call the cockpit with reports of illness or unease in the cabin. She suggested that I tell the cockpit that I was feeling sick; and ask that the airflow be increased. I called; and within 5 to 10 minutes; I was feeling normal. Flight attendants are safety professionals in the cabin; and we should not have to feel sick before we get adequate oxygen flow. This deficiency of oxygen is the definition of hypoxia. I was feeling so sick that I wasn't thinking clearly; and the condition occurred gradually enough that I didn't realize it. It is unsafe and unwise to deprive working crew of sufficient oxygen. In retrospect; I don't know if I could have responded appropriately in an emergency given my oxygen deprived state.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A flight attendant reported feeling ill while at cruise on an out and back flight. Then she was reminded that her company had pilots use pressurization low flow to save fuel. She felt better after asking for increased air flow.
Narrative: I felt extraordinarily tired and somewhat airsick for much of flight to Airport ZZZ. It wasn't due to turbulence; and I was feeling unwell enough to not remember that per my company's recent instructions; the pilots had probably turned down the airflow in the cabin. When I was feeling even sicker on the return flight; I mentioned my condition to the purser. She reminded me of our company's fuel and cost saving measure to lower the airflow in the cabin until flight attendants call the cockpit with reports of illness or unease in the cabin. She suggested that I tell the cockpit that I was feeling sick; and ask that the airflow be increased. I called; and within 5 to 10 minutes; I was feeling normal. Flight attendants are safety professionals in the cabin; and we should not have to feel sick before we get adequate oxygen flow. This deficiency of oxygen is the definition of hypoxia. I was feeling so sick that I wasn't thinking clearly; and the condition occurred gradually enough that I didn't realize it. It is unsafe and unwise to deprive working crew of sufficient oxygen. In retrospect; I don't know if I could have responded appropriately in an emergency given my oxygen deprived state.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.