Definition
The function within an airline or commercial flight operation responsible for assigning pilots and cabin crew to specific flights, ensuring that each assignment complies with regulatory duty time and rest requirements, contractual work rules, and crew qualifications for the aircraft and route.
Plain English
The department that decides which pilots and flight attendants work which flights, while making sure everyone has the legal rest, the right training, and the proper qualifications for the job.
Context Anchor
Seen in airline, charter, and flight-operations settings when crews receive trip assignments, report times, days off, or changes to their schedule.
Why Pilots Care
Proper crew scheduling prevents fatigue and ensures every flight has the required crew available.
Intuition Check
Do not think of Crew Scheduling as just putting names on a calendar. In aviation, it is a controlled assignment process that must account for qualifications, rest, work-time limits, and operational changes.
Example Sentence 1
Crew Scheduling called the first officer at the hotel to add a fourth leg to her trip after the original crew timed out.
Example Sentence 2
Weather delays forced crew scheduling to reassign pilots to maintain legal duty limits.