Flight crew evaluation of the flight time limitations regulation

• Published in: Case studies on transport policy 2021-03, Vol.9 (1), p.280-290
• Main Authors: Efthymiou, Marina, Whiston, Sinead, O'Connell, John F., Brown, Gavin D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aviation; Aviation safety culture; Flight fatigue; Flight time limitations; Incident reporting; Just culture
• ISSN: 2213-624X; 2213-6258
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cstp.2021.01.002

•Safety should not be compromised for maximum aircraft and labor utilisation.•Fatigue is under-reported and is a real risk to safety in the aviation industry.•FTLs have not achieved their full potential in terms of safety, alertness and fatigue.•A substantial change to the existing safety culture should be encouraged. Fatigue has been a long-standing concern in modern aviation. The duty hours of those who operate (cabin crew and pilots) have increased significantly. In order to combat the effects of fatigue, operators must adhere to Flight Time Limitations (FTLs) strictly set by regulatory bodies. With advances in the science of fatigue, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in February 2016 altered the duty limits and rest periods. A quantitative self-report survey design using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests of association and probit regressions with marginal effect calculations gathered the crew perceptions about the impact of the FTL regulation change to fatigue levels, reporting and safety/just culture. Participants (n = 794) were commercial cabin crew and pilots operating under European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regulations. 73.2% said they have not reported fatigue to their airline and 81.7% having operated fatigued. Scales on Fatigue Knowledge and Just/Safety Culture were constructed. Each point increase on the 6-item Just/Safety Culture scale shows that respondents are 8.6 percentage points less likely to operate fatigued. This study signifies that fatigue is under-reported and is a real risk to safety in the aviation industry. A substantial change to the existing safety culture should be encouraged and the fatigue’s safety implications should not be underestimated and safety be compromised for maximum aircraft and labour utilisation.