Holding a valid passport is a tacitly accepted aspect of working as a crew member for an airline. Every pilot and flight attendant has one, and they have a few uses for line flying. Let's talk about international travel and the required documentation for flight crew members.

Yes, flight attendants are almost always required to carry a valid passport, even when working domestic flight segments. While a passport may not be legally required for a domestic trip within a single country, airline operations are high-fidelity environments where schedules can change instantly. A crew member working a flight from New York to Miami might be reassigned mid-day to an international destination like Nassau or Toronto due to a staffing emergency or aircraft swap. Consequently, most airline policies mandate that crew members have their passports on their person at all times while on duty. Furthermore, international crew members often carry a "crew visa" or a Crew Member Certificate (CMC) alongside their passport, which allows them to bypass traditional immigration lines and enter countries under specific crew transit agreements, ensuring they can move seamlessly between borders.