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 12% nap on every flight, 44% do so regularly, 33% nap occasionally, 3% napped as a one-off and 7% could no longer count how often they napped.
“Napping has long become the norm in German cockpits,” said Katharina Dieseldorff, the vice-president of the union, 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.
“A short nap is not critical in and of itself. But a permanently exhausted cockpit crew is a significant risk.”
She 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”.