Photo/Illutration A Jetstar Japan passenger aircraft departs from Narita Airport on April 7. (Seiichi Kobayashi)

The Tokyo District Court on April 22 ordered low-cost carrier Jetstar Japan Co. to pay compensation to cabin attendants who have been forced to work on multiple flights without being given a break.

The court also told the airline to provide rest periods for the workers.

Thirty-five flight attendants and others filed the lawsuit against Jetstar, saying their working conditions were in violation of the Labor Standards Law.

They demanded that Jetstar be prohibited from ordering them to work without rest periods.

According to the lawsuit and other documents, the plaintiffs were assigned to multiple Jetstar domestic and international flights in a single day.

However, they said their work continued uninterrupted during flights. And even after arriving at airports, they were unable to take a break because they had to clean the aircraft.

The Labor Standards Law requires companies to give employees at least a 45-minute break if they work more than six hours, and at least an hour if they work more than eight hours.

The plaintiffs argued that their workday sometimes exceeded 10 or even 12 hours, but that there were no breaks, thus violating the law.

The law does include exceptions to the break rule when the nature of the work precludes such rest periods.

Jetstar argued that the flight attendants’ work fell under this exception.

The airline also argued that “the time between arrival and departure of the next flight constitutes rest time.”

Related News