The new EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency ) study on “Effectiveness of Flight Time Limitation (FTL)” revealed that European pilots and cabin crew are experiencing unusually high levels of fatigue.
This new study comes at a time where air traffic is growing rapidly and pilots are increasingly being asked to fly up to the limits of what is legally allowed.
Moreover, fatigue in Europe’s cockpits has become an every-day and growing reality. It is estimated that pilot fatigue contributes to 15-20% of all fatal air accidents related to human error. Pilot and flight crew fatigue has been a topic of discussion for a while – what is the real situation in Europe’s airlines?
Fatigue Hot Spots
EASA on behalf of the EU Commission has just carried out a new study based on a real-life operation of 24 airlines in Europe. The EU-wide survey among 15,680 pilots and cabin crew identified two main ‘fatigue hot spots’ on board of Europe’s aircraft.
The study revealed the major shortcomings of flight time limitations (FTL), the rules governing the duration of flights, service time and pilot rest for night flights and disruptive schedules. The study found an increased probability of high fatigue levels during nights and duty periods with late finishes, among both pilots and cabin crew.
Stressful Night Duties
According to the study, night flights, regardless of their length, cause excessive fatigue to the crew. Night duties (longer than 10 hours) were qualified as particularly stressful: “the results of this research phase highlight that prescriptive limits alone are not sufficient to prevent high fatigue during night flights.”
Night flights come out as particularly fatiguing. The current European FTL rules permit an 11-hour shift through the night – and up to 12:45 hours for a late-afternoon departure – with no breaks, but the need to be awake and alert throughout the flight.
The study has now demonstrated that not only very long night flights (10 hours or more) but all night flights, irrespective of their duration, lead to an excessive level of crew fatigue.
These research results are particularly relevant for airline long-haul operations, as the length of night FTLs determines how many crew members will be on board for many long-haul trips that include a night duty.
Disruptive schedules for short-haul flights
The second duty type and the other major source of fatigue the study researched is described as ‘disruptive schedules’. It mostly affects short-haul operations. Disruptive schedules are those when crew start early in the morning (e.g. at 05:00) or finish late in the evening / during the night (e.g. 23:00-01:59).
Handling consecutive blocks of such duties and the transition between them are routinely at the top of short-haul pilots’ concerns about fatigue and rosters.
Source: aviationvoice.com