Pilots and cabin crew representatives urged the European Commission to match current EU rules on flight time limitations with scientific and medical advice, saying long hours of work are putting passenger safety at risk.
Depending on which airline they work for, pilots can fly up to 14 hours per day and cabin crew members can be assigned a daily duty of 15 hours. Scientific opinion cited by EASA say these working hours are excessive and should be reduced to a maximum of 13 hours per day. Flight crew can be assigned to work 180 hours in 21 days - allowing three consecutive working weeks of 60 hours, while scientific advice suggest a limit of 100 hours in 14 consecutive days.
According to the AEA, if the study’s recommendations for new flight time limitations were implemented, airlines would need to employ 15-20% more pilots and many direct long-haul services would become too costly to operate.
Daniel Hoeltgen, head of communications at the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), said EASA will issue a draft proposal for new flight time limitation ”by this time next year“. A blueprint for new rules should be ready for mid-2011 after a public consultation so that Member States can implement everything by April 2012, Hoeltgen added.
