The 24-Hour Clock
The 24-hour clock (also known as military time) is the time standard used by military and government personnel and flight crewmembers industry-wide all over the world. The time of day is determined by reading the 24-hour clock incrementally from 0100 through 2400 with each hour corresponding to a unique hour from 1 through 24 on the 24-hour clock. Because each hour is unique, there is no need for AM or PM on the 24-hour clock. As an example, 1100 would be 11:00AM, 1200 would be 12:00PM, 1300 would be 1:00 PM, and 2300 would be 11:00 PM.
Do Flight Attendants Need to Know the 24-Hour Clock?
As a flight attendant, you’ll use the 24-hour clock every day. You’ll need to know it for reading your own flight schedule, understanding check-in times, departure and arrival times, and for bidding for trips. Your class schedule throughout training will also be in 24-hour clock time. One of the tests you may be given in new-hire training is on 24-hour clock time conversion. You’ll be required to know how to convert regular time to 24-hour clock time and how to convert 24-hour clock time to standard time. And there’s not much room for error; most airlines require you to score at least 90% to pass! Even if your particular airline does not test you on the 24-hour clock, learning this concept now will make your new life as a flight attendant much easier.
24-Hour Clock Test
There are five multiple choice tests, each with twenty questions for a total of 100 questions. If you miss a few questions on any test, you can always come back and take it again, but the questions and answers will always be in a different order. Remember, you should strive to get 18 or more questions correct on each test (over 90%) before moving on to the next one. Once you have mastered these tests and scored over 90% correctly on each one, you are ready for this phase of flight attendant training!