Pilots admit to sleeping on the job – Report

A German pilots’ union said Wednesday that napping during flights had become a “worrying reality” for its members as it sounded the alarm over “increasing fatigue” in the sector.

The Vereinigung Cockpit union said it had carried out a survey of more than 900 pilots in recent weeks which had found that 93 percent of them admitted to napping during a flight in the past few months.

While cautioning that the survey was “not representative”, the union said 44 percent of pilots asked had napped “regularly” during flights, 12 percent on every flight, while seven percent couldn’t remember how often it happened.
“Napping has long become the norm in German cockpits,” said Katharina Dieseldorff, vice president of Vereinigung Cockpit.
“What was originally intended as a short-term recovery measure has turned into a permanent answer to structural pressure.
“A short nap is not critical in and of itself. But a permanently exhausted cockpit crew is a significant risk,” added Dieseldorff.

She said that staff shortages and “rising operational pressure” had worsened the situation for pilots, particularly during the summer months.

The union said it defined napping as “controlled rest phases during the flight phase.”

The union says it represents 10,000 pilots and cockpit personnel in Germany, including those in training.