The environmental comfort experience and activities of flight attendants in a turboprop airplane

Journal article (2023)

Authors

Annechien Verkuyl vhp Human Performance
Guido te Brake vhp Human Performance
Peter van Scheijndel vhp Human Performance
G. Vledder Emerging Materials - IDE
P. Vink Emerging Materials - IDE
Research Group
Emerging Materials (IDE) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2023 Annechien Verkuyl, Guido te Brake, Peter van Scheijndel, G. Vledder, P. Vink
More Info
expand_more

Published Date

2023

Language

English

Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Faculty

Industrial Design Engineering

Department

Sustainable Design Engineering

Research Group

Emerging Materials

Abstract

The aviation industry needs to reduce CO2 emissions. Turboprop aircrafts consume 10-60% less fuel compared to regional jets. In addition, electric propeller aircrafts are now in development, which can be CO2 neutral. However, in turboprop aircrafts the noise level is high and the space is limited. For flight attendants that work long hours in these aircrafts, this could become demanding. In this paper, the environmental comfort and ergonomics are studied in an experiment in a turboprop aircraft as a base for improving the working conditions for cabin personnel in future propeller aircrafts.
In general, it can be concluded that the tasks of the FAs in a turboprop are challenging regarding both physical and mental aspects. Unfavourable postures, high forces required for manoeuvring the trolley, little recovery time and a noisy environment all contribute to increased physical workload levels, which cause discomfort. The work is mentally demanding as resting time is very limited on short flights. When developing aircraft interiors, attention should be paid to reduce cabin noise and to ergonomic designs that require lower physical forces and allow FAs to work with healthy postures.