Abstract Airline rostering consists of a complex sequence of tasks that, depending on time away from the event, are shared in multiple stages between several rostering departments. Their synchronisation, as well as the roster production, is a complex and a vital process that is continuously subject to discussions between rostering departments, operators, regulators, and local negotiating parties, as well as between individual crew members. From the regulatory and legislative aspects, EASA member states adopted EASA Flight Time Limitations (FTL). FTLs are mandatory for operator Airlines, and their scheduling departments respectively. Operators often see the limitations as a target to achieve maximum duty times and minimum rest times. However, FTLs were designed as a recommendation to operator Airlines and under no circumstances describe the FTL as a limit. The primary task of an individual roster plan, given an optimum amount of crew members, is to cover the required amount of flights. Altogether, the regulations and limitations must be adhered to. Additionally, the roster should find a fair balance between the operational needs and effective usage of crew member’s capacities. However, in real-world conditions, an individual roster plan has a significant impact on a crew member’s work-life balance, in terms of ruling an individual’s sleep pattern and social life. By adding up operational delays and unforeseen circumstances, the individual might eventually face challenges such as fatigue or even burnout. Thus, a more protective agreement between the operator and local negotiating authority, called a realistic scheduling agreement, aims to protect workforce interest and improve the work-lifestyle balance. This article discusses issues around rostering at European airlines and describes matters that might arise when building such an agreement between the Company and local negotiating authority. The scope of this discussion paper is to outline the inevitable place of a realistic scheduling agreement within an airline by highlighting some of the controverse aspects of EASA FTL’s. As a methodology, the author chose a discussion approach rather than a comparison of quantitative data. While most of the available research papers focus on roster optimising parameters in the scheduling process, the author would like to outline the impact of the current FTL’s on individual lifestyle balance and their management with respect to fatigue mitigation.