A new survey has raised concerns about tiredness among airline pilots, with around three in four respondents across Europe saying they had experienced at least one episode of “microsleep” while operating an aircraft.
The findings also include pilots working for airlines registered in Portugal, where almost 29% of those surveyed said they usually continued flying without reporting themselves unfit when they felt too fatigued to work.
The survey was carried out by aviation safety consultancy Baines Simmons for the European Cockpit Association (ECA), which represents professional pilots’ associations. It gathered responses from 7,198 captains and first officers across 32 European countries, including 509 working for airlines with a Portuguese air operator’s certificate.
A microsleep is a brief, involuntary episode of sleep that can last for just a few seconds. Across Europe, 76.8% of pilots who responded said they had experienced at least one while operating an aircraft during the four weeks before the survey.
The situation in Portugal
The results for Portugal were similar when it came to microsleeps, with around 76% of the pilots in the Portuguese group reporting at least one episode in the previous four weeks.
But the survey also looked at what pilots do when they feel too tired to work. Of those working for airlines with a Portuguese operating certificate, 29.1% said they usually continued flying without reporting that they were unfit for duty.
A further 9.6% said they usually called in sick, while 25.5% reported that they normally declared themselves unfit to fly because of fatigue, Portuguese newspaper Observador reported.
Among pilots in the Portuguese group who said they had flown when, looking back, they felt they should have reported fatigue, some pointed to concerns about the consequences. Around 39% mentioned a possible loss of pay, while a third feared a negative reaction from management. Respondents could choose more than one reason.
Why are pilots tired?
Long working days, early starts, night flights, irregular schedules and crossing time zones can all make it harder for pilots to get enough rest.
Across the European survey, 38.8% of respondents said they usually or always had insufficient rest to prevent tiredness from building up. More than half also said that, during the previous three months, they had operated at least one flight when they later felt they should have declared themselves unfit because of fatigue.
The concern is not just how tired someone feels. Fatigue can affect concentration, judgement and reaction times, making it harder to respond when something unexpected happens.
European aviation rules require airlines to manage fatigue risks, and pilots can declare themselves unfit for duty when they are too tired to fly. The survey suggests, however, that some pilots are worried about what might happen if they do so.
The ECA is calling for stronger oversight and for pilots to be able to report fatigue without fear of negative consequences.
The results reflect the experiences of those who chose to take part in the survey; they do not establish how often incidents or accidents are caused by fatigue.