Narrative:

During the morning van ride to the airport; I learned that the flight attendant assigned to my flight was ill. I am sure of this because I witnessed her coughing during the entire van ride and she also had a long conversation with another flight attendant sitting next to her. During this conversation; she mentioned that she was diagnosed and currently suffering from pneumonia. In addition she revealed that she was currently taking prescription antibiotics for her illness. She also had mentioned that while performing her passenger service the day prior; more than one passenger commented on her illness and subsequently refused to be served by her. At some point in the conversation she had mentioned that she couldn't afford to have called in sick for this trip but that she was probably going to call in once she got to our first destination because we had more than a three hour sit and crew scheduling would have plenty of time to find a replacement. Having observed her symptoms; as well as hearing this whole conversation; it was my opinion that this flight attendant was not fit for duty. I called crew scheduling and informed them of the situation. I then spoke to the flight attendant and told her that I had advised crew scheduling. She then told me that they had called her and she informed them that she wasn't calling off and that she would be working the flight. At this point I gathered my belongings; went back into the terminal and called crew scheduling once again to inform them that I would not be working with this flight attendant today. Crew scheduling told me to sit tight and they would get back to me. After waiting approximately 30 minutes; I received a call from the chief pilot. He asked what was going on and I explained to him in detail the events that had transpired up until then. It was at this time that he informed me that as far as he was concerned she was 'cleared' to fly and that if I refused to work the flight that he would have no choice but to suspend me on the spot. I was completely silent as I could not believe the chief pilot would threaten me with suspension if I didn't fly a flight with a flight attendant who was not fit for duty. I asked him to confirm that if I refused to fly with this flight attendant; who was not fit for duty; that I would be suspended. He answered; 'yep.' so; here I am typing this from home while my schedule shows me suspended for the rest of the month. I honestly believe this was a scare tactic in order to prevent a cancellation. The chief pilot should not threaten pilots with suspension if they aren't willing to overlook our operations manual and fly with a crew member who is not fit for duty. It's only a matter of time before someone gets pressured into doing something that isn't safe with disastrous results. The chief pilot should be aware of the contents of the manual; especially where it mentions that prescription drugs; including antibiotics; must be avoided. The company sick call policy needs to be changed so that crew members have the option to excuse themselves from work for legitimate health reasons; without fear of reprimand or intimidation.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A commuter air carrier pilot was suspended for the rest of the month for refusing to operate a flight with a working Flight Attendant who was ill and openly declaring that she was flying despite being in violation of regulations and company policy regarding the use of prescription antibiotics.

Narrative: During the morning van ride to the airport; I learned that the Flight Attendant assigned to my flight was ill. I am sure of this because I witnessed her coughing during the entire van ride and she also had a long conversation with another Flight Attendant sitting next to her. During this conversation; she mentioned that she was diagnosed and currently suffering from pneumonia. In addition she revealed that she was currently taking prescription antibiotics for her illness. She also had mentioned that while performing her passenger service the day prior; more than one passenger commented on her illness and subsequently refused to be served by her. At some point in the conversation she had mentioned that she couldn't afford to have called in sick for this trip but that she was probably going to call in once she got to our first destination because we had more than a three hour sit and Crew Scheduling would have plenty of time to find a replacement. Having observed her symptoms; as well as hearing this whole conversation; it was my opinion that this Flight Attendant was not fit for duty. I called Crew Scheduling and informed them of the situation. I then spoke to the Flight Attendant and told her that I had advised Crew Scheduling. She then told me that they had called her and she informed them that she wasn't calling off and that she would be working the flight. At this point I gathered my belongings; went back into the terminal and called Crew Scheduling once again to inform them that I would not be working with this Flight Attendant today. Crew Scheduling told me to sit tight and they would get back to me. After waiting approximately 30 minutes; I received a call from the Chief Pilot. He asked what was going on and I explained to him in detail the events that had transpired up until then. It was at this time that he informed me that as far as he was concerned she was 'cleared' to fly and that if I refused to work the flight that he would have no choice but to suspend me on the spot. I was completely silent as I could not believe the Chief Pilot would threaten me with suspension if I didn't fly a flight with a Flight Attendant who was not fit for duty. I asked him to confirm that if I refused to fly with this Flight Attendant; who was not fit for duty; that I would be suspended. He answered; 'Yep.' So; here I am typing this from home while my schedule shows me suspended for the rest of the month. I honestly believe this was a scare tactic in order to prevent a cancellation. The Chief Pilot should not threaten pilots with suspension if they aren't willing to overlook our operations manual and fly with a crew member who is not fit for duty. It's only a matter of time before someone gets pressured into doing something that isn't safe with disastrous results. The Chief Pilot should be aware of the contents of the manual; especially where it mentions that prescription drugs; including antibiotics; must be avoided. The company sick call policy needs to be changed so that crew members have the option to excuse themselves from work for legitimate health reasons; without fear of reprimand or intimidation.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.