Tired pilots are a nightmare for airline passengers. Unions are demanding better prevention systems and longer rest periods.
European pilot associations warn of safety risks caused by overtired pilots. They based their criticism on a survey of almost 7,000 participants commissioned by the European pilot umbrella organization ECA.
According to this, three out of four pilots surveyed experienced at least one microsleep in the cockpit over a period of four weeks. In addition, 73 percent of participants reported that they were unable to recover sufficiently from fatigue between their flight duties.
The pilots also often suffer from extended flight times, which can be extended beyond the legal requirements via the so-called commander’s decision, if, for example, detours have to be flown.
Almost every fifth respondent stated that they had made such a decision in the past four weeks. More than 60 percent feared trouble with their airline if they refused to make such a decision and, for example, ordered a stopover to swap crews.
Problems are “not taken seriously enough”
The German Cockpit Association sees serious shortcomings in the risk management of airlines against fatigue and gaps in monitoring by the supervisory authorities. “Many European airlines don’t take safety risks from fatigue sufficiently seriously,” criticized VC safety expert Vivianne Rehaag.
The European Cockpit Association (ECA) reports that pilots from Great Britain, Malta, Spain and Ireland complained particularly frequently about inadequate fatigue management at their airlines. The situation was assessed comparatively well by pilots from Switzerland, the Netherlands and Austria.
Source: Stern
