Almost a Quarter of European Pilots Fly Despite Fatigue

Three in four European airline pilots have taken a microsleep in the cockpit, and almost a quarter usually keep flying when too tired to work, according to a survey by the European Cockpit Association (ECA). It covered nearly 7,200 captains and first officers and was run in August.

Some 24 percent of pilots said they usually carry on flying rather than report themselves unfit because of fatigue. Another 16.8 percent said they call in sick instead. Only one in three said they usually report themselves unfit, and half admitted that in the three months before the survey they had operated a flight when they should have declared themselves too tired.

Fear of reprisals

Almost half of respondents feared negative consequences from management if they reported fatigue. Just 11.9 percent trusted their airline's fatigue reporting system. More than a third of pilots at airlines based in Ireland and Malta said they were not getting enough rest to stop tiredness building up, and those pilots reported the highest levels of microsleeps and were among the most likely to fear reprisals.

The share who would fly when fatigued was higher in Spain, Ireland and France. Two in five pilots at Spain-based airlines and a third of those at Ireland- and France-based airlines said they usually fly in that state, against one in ten at UK-based airlines. Only 15.6 percent of pilots at low-cost carriers believed their airline managed fatigue risk well, compared with 18.6 percent at ACMI or wet-lease operators, which supply aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance to other airlines.

Almost two in five pilots had used commander's discretion, which lets captains extend crew hours or cut rest in exceptional circumstances, at least once in the month before the survey. Nearly 70 percent were worried about refusing to extend their duty.

Ian Holder, managing director of the aviation safety consultancy Baines Simmons, said the results show persistent differences in how airlines and national authorities handle fatigue. He stressed the findings reflect pilots' first-hand experience and are not a direct measure of safety outcomes, but that the results had been consistent over three years. He pointed to Finland and the Netherlands as proof that stronger reporting cultures are achievable.

ECA president Capt Tanja Harter said: "This cannot be simply left to us – the pilots – to manage, while we are on the flight deck and expected to bring our passengers safely to their destination." She urged the European Union Aviation Safety Agency to tighten fatigue rules and make sure airlines follow requirements on non-punitive reporting and proper use of commander's discretion. "Waiting for another three years to discover that nothing has changed is simply not an option," she said.

Source: The Guardian