A German pilots’ union has said that napping during flights has 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 found that 93% 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% of pilots asked had napped “regularly” during flights, 12% on every flight, while 7% couldn’t remember how often it happened.
“Napping has long become the norm in German cockpits,” said Katharina Dieseldorff, vice-president of Vereinigung Cockpit, which represents 10,000 pilots, cockpit workers and trainees.
“What was originally intended as a short-term recovery measure has turned into a permanent answer to structural pressure.
She added: “A short nap is not critical in and of itself. But a permanently exhausted cockpit crew is a significant risk.”
Dieseldorff said 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”.
