New Strain Of Jet Lag Devastates Airline Industry

[welshTerrier2]

ATLANTA—Already hard hit by labor strife and escalating fuel costs, the commercial airline industry faces a new crisis: an epidemic of jet lag caused by a powerful strain that is highly resistant to regular remedies like catnaps.

Airlines have set up napping-triage centers in major airports in response to the "Super Lag," but are unable to keep up with the rising tide of severely weary passengers, who number in the thousands nationwide.

"Infected travelers are really tired out, whether they're on long international flights or domestic flights as short as an hour and a half," said Delta Airlines ticket agent Olivia Gage at Atlanta International Airport, which has seen some of the most advanced cases of Super Lag. "Our supplies of thin blankets and miniature pillows are running dangerously low." <skip>

Dr. Robert Sanders is one of hundreds of volunteer physicians treating Super Lag sufferers at airports nationwide. "Jet lag was first documented in the late '50s," Sanders said. "Over the years, we've developed band-aid solutions to combat the disorder—neck pillows, laptops, in-flight movies—but it was really only a matter of time before jet lag mutated into a more virulent strain." <skip>

Prolonged rest is the only known remedy for Super Lag, according to Bill Ziegler of the Centers For Fatigue Control. "Victims can also alleviate their symptoms by wadding jackets or sweaters into makeshift pillows," he said. "And we're recommending that airlines loosen their restriction on reclining cabin seats during the ascent and descent phases of flights."

read the full article here ...

[Nikki Stone 1]

1. Is this for real?

Maybe it's the damned air circulation on smaller and smaller planes.

[welshTerrier2]

2. i think it's their idiotic cost saving measures ...

they're mixing about 5% less oxygen into the cabin air ...

[DELUSIONAL]

3. The onion

[Nikki Stone 1]

4. Ah, shoulda clicked on the link

The problem is I have noticed that airline travel has become more exhausting, no doubt because of cost-cutting measures. Another article where the Onion cuts close to the truth.

[DELUSIONAL]

6. Just hold your mouse pointer over the link -- look at the

bottom of the screen and you'll see where the link goes.

Also often the Onion has better writers than the real Corporate media -- so that's often a clue.

[napi21]

5. Gee, you don't suppose standing in long security lines, might have

an effect on passengers being tired, do ya???