stand-up overnight
n.— «Sickler said he typically flies four or five legs a day, frequently works 12-hour days and spends four or five days every week in a hotel. He said a quarter of his shifts are what the airline industry calls “stand-up overnights’”continuous duty” or simply “naps.” Those shifts typically begin in mid- to late evening, when the pilots show up for work at the airport. They fly to one location, arriving late. Then they are taken to a hotel, where they often get just four to five hours of sleep, and sometimes less. Then, Sickler said, they fly the plane back early the next morning. Airlines like to book pilots for stand-up overnights because it allows for easier scheduling.» —“Regional pilots feel intense pressures” by Karla Ward Herald-Leader (Lexington, Kentucky) Sept. 3, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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