Delta tried to "trap" their own flight attendants on a plane message display

A recent Delta flight that left Atlanta went into a maintenance problem, causing a long delay before starting. When the airline tried to solve the problem, someone could have feared that holdup caused even greater headaches: airline companies dropped off because they had worked so long.

So, according to internal communication reviewed by HuffPost, an employee of the Delta Operations Control Center was sent a directive to Delta Gate Agent who handles the aircraft.

"Don't open the door," reads the message. "The workers informed that" let [maintenance] do their work without opening the door thank you. "

Whoever sent the message seems to have been worried that the airmen would soon be worried about their maximum hours of work ̵[ads1]1; most of them may be required to work continuously without a break. And that, tired and annoyed, they would go off The flight schedule and force the airline to scramble to find another crew, or cancel the flight.

Flight duty timetables vary from airline to airline, usually when an assistant hits the maximum hours for a number of flights, they cannot be forced to continue in the next segment, even if they will receive extra pay if they do, but it is not clear if these shooters would have had the opportunity to leave the aircraft in this situation, but someone in the operation control apparently seemed to do so.

The message above went out at 10:19 am About half an hour later, the operation center sent an even more pressing note: "Ok … if the door is not closed by [11 p.m.] Flt workers going. We will probably have to delay flights tomorrow if this happens. "

Someone in the airplane responded," Copy. "

The correspondence suggests that the plane in question was Delta 1990, from Atlanta to Toronto, on May 12. Flight history from FlightAware.com airline tracking site shows the plane nearly three and a half hour after it was scheduled for 11:27 It came to Toronto just after 1.30

HuffPost could not find any crew members who worked the plane. The source that provided the messages is not a Delta employee.

But the correspondence means that the airlines understood what was going on and were not happy about it. A companion listed as "flight attendant" said they knew that the operation team was trying to "catch" them on the plane, even though those who lived at work volunteered.

"Since we decide to stay, even if you are trying to catch us on the plane, and now we have been shortened and we will be past our duty, hungry and tired. It would be nice to have a death pin on one time tomorrow. "

A" head of death "is when a flight fee or pilot flies a leg as a passenger and is paid but does not work.

"We're ready to go literally," followed the assistant in another message. "Making the operation a great service."

Delta acknowledged the Flight 1990 incident in a statement to HuffPost, saying it was a breakdown of the company's protocol.

"The operation of an airline is an effort and the guidance is shared in this exchange does not reflect the respect and cooperation we expect from our employees when they take operational decisions," the company said. "Delta unique culture is built on supporting each other and it happened not in this case. We have followed up directly with the involved team members to cope with this situation. "

According to Delta, the door was opened after the maintenance was done. The airmen could have gone if they wanted to, but chose to live and work.

Delta employees communicated through a relatively new internal app. The employee in the operation controls who Who said to close the door might not understand who saw the message, he or she was not the guide for anyone in the conversation, according to the company.

The incident shines a light on the difficult hours that many airline companies have to work and how the airlines are tightening up Delta was obviously reluctant to bring in another crew to the staff of the aircraft, even though those working on board may be overworked.

Working flight schedules are often outsourced to a trade union. is not an association, even though the international association of engineers and flight workers is trying to organize them, as well as the company's ramp agents.

Campaign bl A recent national news when journalist Eoin Higgins posted anti-union material airline produced to discourage workers from unionization.

This story has been updated with additional comment from Delta. It has also clarified the meaning of "head of death."

Are you a Delta flight fee? Even better, did you work on this plane? We would love to hear from you.