EUROPEAN COMMISSION
MEMO
Brussels, 4 October 2013
Pilot and crew fatigue — frequently asked questions
What are the current rules?
Europe has built up an impressive safety record over recent years, and last year became
the safest region in the world to fly – with the lowest accident rate ever. This safety record
is built on a combination of EU and national safety rules, including rules covering pilot and
crew fatigue.
The EU current safety rules on pilot and crew fatigue were established in 2006 under
Regulation (EC) No 1899/2006 (EU-OPS). These mandatory EU flight duty limitations and
rest requirements (or "FTL") for aircrew are usually referred to as "Subpart Q"). The aim is
to ensure that flight and cabin crew members perform safety functions on board of aircraft
at a proper level of alertness.
In a nutshell, the current EU rules require Member States, airlines and aircrew to ensure
safe duty rosters. They cover, among other issues, flight duty limits per day, week, month
and year, in addition to minimum rest per day and month depending on previous duties.
The current rules leave a number of specific aspects of FTL to Member State discretion and
most Member States have adopted national rules to address them.
The EU has one single aviation market, logically it should be governed by one common set
of safety rules applicable to all operators. This work, to set EU-wide safety rules has been
on-going since 2003, including for FTL.
What is the problem? Why do we need to upgrade the EU rules?
The FTL rules are today the only EU aviation safety rules still outside the common
legislative framework of the basic EU safety regulation. This creates confusion as to who is
responsible for what and makes it more difficult to ensure and oversee the correct
implementation of FTL rules.
In practical terms the FTL rules,
• FTL rules need to be updated in line with the latest scientific, operational and
international developments. These include fatigue risk management, maximum
flight time and duty limitations, recurring rest periods and rules in case of
disruptive schedules.
• The current patchwork of national provisions make it difficult to achieve legal
certainty and importantly also a level playing field among EU operators. In
addition, national differences can result in airlines exploiting differences to their
advantage, such as by artificially moving the home base of a crew member.
MEMO/13/854
• Certain rules in Subpart Q need to be updated and clarified – as they have been
interpreted and implemented in different ways and required to be clarified.
• Furthermore, in certain areas of FTL, the rules applied by Member States differ
significantly without a clear safety justification.
For these reasons, in 2009 the Commission tasked the European Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA) to work out a possible revision of the current FTL rules in light of the latest
scientific and technical evidence, and best practice. In general, the existing EU FTL rules
were adequate, but needed some adjustments.
In addition, the Commission asked EASA to clarify:
• the calculation of the maximum daily flight duty; and
• to fill the gaps left by current rules, mainly concerning in-flight rest and standby.
What are we proposing?
The Commission, based on recommendations from EASA and stakeholders, has proposed
a new regulation to update Subpart Q and the current national rules which complement
Subpart Q. Overall, it can be said that for some Member States the regulation is quite
similar to what they already have today, for other Member States it represents a
significant strengthening of key parts of their FTL regime. The new regulation will offer the
EU one of the most modern and strict FTL regimes in the world.
All measures covered by EASA in its 2012 technical opinion to the Commission, and
included in the Commission proposal, aim at increasing safety, either through more
coherent legislative and administrative framework, more protective rules (for example, in
terms of additional rest or reduced duty periods) or through the clarification of the existing
rules.
There are five key areas which are tackled in the new regulation:
Night-time duty
The Commission wants to tighten the rules on night-time flight duty to a maximum of 11
hours. The current EU rules set the maximum limit for night duty at 11h45. The 11 hour
restrictions will be a major step forwards.
Currently, no EU Member State has such restrictive night-time rules in place – only the UK
with a night-time duty limit of 11:15 is close.
In addition, under the new rules:
• more flights will be considered night flights and subject to shorter duty periods;
• new provisions will means that operators will have to manage actively night duties
longer than 10 hours using fatigue risk management principles.
Cumulative fatigue
Cumulative fatigue is a key part of the existing EU rules. However, the new proposal goes
a lot further to strengthen protection in this area:
• The limit on total flight time in 12 consecutive months will be reduced from the
current 1 300 down to 1 000 hours.
• The proposals introduce a new additional cumulative duty limit of 110 hours per 14
days. There is currently no such limit.
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• A new prolonged recovery rest period of 48 hours twice a month versus the current
36 hours.
• It also introduces new additional rest (weekly rest of 60 hours instead of 36) in
case of disruptive schedules.
Home base
Home base is an important factor in determining rest periods. Under the current EU rules
but there are no specific limits to the number of "home bases" that can be assigned, and
the rules can be misused. Under the new rules, these provisions are greatly strengthened
with:
• A new requirement that a single airport location must assigned with a high degree
of permanence.
• A new and increased extended recovery rest period prior to starting duty after a
change of home base.
• A new provision to ensure that travelling between the former and the new home
base counts as duty, not private time.
• And new requirements on "horizontal rest" – during flight this must be on seats
meeting mandatory construction standards vs current regular economy class
seats.
Standby
Every day, airlines needs a number of pilots and cabin crew to be on standby, to step in
when a scheduled crew is prevented from taking up duty. Standby can be at the airport or
at home. Under the new EU rules,
• Maximum combined duration of airport standby followed by flight duty will be
limited to 16 hours, following which there has to be a rest period.
• Currently, this is set nationally. In some Member States there are no limits and in
others is can go up to 26 hours.
• For home standby, the maximum flight duty limit starts counting after 6 hours of
standby, regardless of whether the crew is actually called up. In this way, the
combined duration of home standby followed by flight duty cannot realistically
exceed 18 hours.
• The current rules for home standby are national. These existing rules either do not
to set a limit at all, or are must less restrictive. For example, standby at home,
can go up to 24 hours including in Germany, France and Belgium. After those 24
hours pilots are still allowed to fly to the maximum flight duty time. These rules
will continue to apply if the new Regulation is not adopted.
Rest
Currently rest is covered by a combination of EU and national rules.
These will now be strengthened at EU level with the introduction of
• New protected 8-hour sleep opportunity;
• New increased rest at destination;
• New additional rest after alternating rotations east–west / west–east;
• New provisions on minimum rest at home base measured in local nights with a
minimum of 2 local nights after significant (4 or more) time zone transitions
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depending on the number of time zone crossed and the duration of the time
spent away.
Other issues
• Particularly important for cabin crew are new measures on horizontal rest during
flight on seats meeting mandatory construction standards versus current regular
economy class seats. This is essential for proper rest.
• Time window during which the maximum flight duty period is limited to 11 hours is
extended to cover 12 hours between 17:00 and 05:00.
What happens next?
The new regulation was approved by an overwhelming majority of Member States at the
EASA Committee held on 11 July 2013. It was then transmitted to the European
Parliament and Council for scrutiny. The scrutiny period ends on 25 October. If the
European Parliament accepts the regulation, the Commission will formally adopt it the
coming months and it would enter into force around the end of 2013, with a two-year
transition period.
If the European Parliament decides to block the draft regulation, this would have negative
effects on safety as a series of clear improvements in crew protection against fatigue
would not be adopted. We would revert back to the old rules of "Subpart Q".
Below are 10 key examples of concrete safety improvements which would be lost if the
new regulation on aircrew fatigue cannot be adopted:
• Night flight duty will go back up to 11h45 instead of 11h in the new regulation.
Only one EU Member State has set lower limits under national law (11h15);
nowhere is the limit below 11h. Moreover, more flights will be considered
daytime flights and subject to longer duty periods.
• Standby at home will no longer be limited to 6 hours when combined with
maximum flight duty time. The limits set under national law will apply or the
airline will decide. Standby can go up to 24 hours including in Germany, France
and Belgium. After those 24 hours pilots are still allowed to fly to the maximum
flight duty time.
• The combination of standby at the airport with flight duty will not be capped at 16
hours. It will be 20 hours or 26 hours, or even without limit at all in some
Member States.
• No single home base will be assigned to a crew member. Current rules do not set
any barrier to frequent changes of home base as the airline practice is today.
• Total flight time in 12 consecutive months will not be limited to 1000 hours but to
1300 hours.
• There will be no increase of the weekly rest by 12 hours twice a month.
• Time zone crossing will not be compensated with up to five days of rest at the
home base; instead it will be two days or even less in some Member States.
• Flight and cabin crew will not be entitled by law to horizontal rest during flight in
most Member States. Current national rules allow airlines to offer only economy
seats for rest.
• No additional rest will be provided for schedules that disrupt crew members’ body
clocks (like early starts and night flights).
• National oversight authorities will have less access to information on how specific
airlines manage fatigue of their crew members.
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FURTHER BACKGROUND: Frequently asked questions
Why is there such an intensive lobby on this issue? Surely the pilots
know what's best for them and for safety?
Some pilots believe they will lose out with the new Regulation, in particular those pilots
who benefit from the most protective collective agreements, often in traditional airlines.
Their belief is unfounded, because the new Regulation will not affect those collective
agreements. The most protective rule always applies. Therefore flight crew will not be
harmed by the new Regulation.
In reality the vast majority of pilots and cabin crew do not benefit from such agreements.
Today most flight crew work for charter and low-cost air carriers. The new Regulation
would bring not only stronger safety but at the same time would bring concrete
improvements in working conditions because of its strict limits on standby and flight time
and minimum requirements for rest.
We have read and heard the articles and programmes in the media recently which paint a
picture where most pilots fall asleep in the cockpit and suggesting that safety rules in
Europe are completely inadequate. Nothing could be further from the truth. Europe has
built up an impressive safety record over recent years, and last year became the safest
region in the world to fly – with the lowest accident rate ever. This has been achieved with
today's safety rules, which are a combination of EU rules (so-called Subpart Q) and
national rules in Member States.
The Commission agrees with the unions that crew fatigue is an important safety issue.
That is why Europe needs a strong set of rules. If these rules are not respected, or a pilot
faces an unsafe situation because of fatigue, he is obliged to report such incidents to the
authorities. Safety policy is based on analysis of such reports, and the analysis done over
past years did not show a dangerous trend in fatigue related incidents. By the way, pilots
are allowed –and even expected– to take short sleep during the cruising phase of a long
flight, while the second pilot and the autopilot look after safety. The story about an
incident where two pilots allegedly fell asleep at the same time on an Airbus flying for a
British company this summer received a lot of media attention but has now turned out to
be false.
What are the main myths which are circulating – what are the
facts?
Myth #1
'The proposal allows crews to be on standby for 8hrs and to consequently take a flight
duty of up to 14hrs, landing after 22+hrs on duty/awake.'
Not true. The combination of airport standby plus flight duty period will in fact be capped
at 16 hours. Currently such combination can reach 20 hours or 26 hours, or can even be
without limit at all in some Member States.
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As regards the combination of standby outside the airport (e.g. at home) and flight duty,
100% of the time above 6 hours spent on standby is subtracted from the allowable flight
duty assigned afterwards. Moreover, the rules will protect crew from being called out
unnecessarily during the night, e.g. for a duty which will start only at noon. A crew
member will have and must use sleep opportunities during a standby period. Thus, the
combination of standby outside the airport with flight duty cannot realistically lead to a
period of more than 18 consecutive hours awake, of which no more than 14 hours can be
spent on board an aircraft. Currently, standby outside the airport can go up to 24 hours
including in Germany, France and Belgium. After those 24 hours pilots are still allowed to
fly to the maximum flight duty time. These rules will continue to apply if the new
Regulation is not adopted.
Myth #2
'The proposed rules contain a large number of provisions that are counter to what
scientific experts consider safe. Whilst the Commission allows 11–12hrs 30 min flight time
at night, scientific experts consistently recommended a maximum of 10hrs as being the
safe limit.'
Not true. As regards night flights, there is one specific study from 1998 referring to a
specific long-distance flight operation which, given the circumstances of that operation and
within the regulatory context at the time, recommended a 10-hour limitation of (night)
flight duty. This study does not, and does not claim to, provide scientific evidence for a
universal 10-hour limit, nor did it look into the effects of any of the planned new rules
such as additional rest requirements connected to night flights. There are no other studies
to support its claim, and it would be unscientific to extrapolate its findings.
The new EU rules will in fact reduce the limit for night flight duty from today's 11h45 to
11h. Only one EU Member State has set lower limits under national law (11h15); nowhere
is the limit currently below 11h. In fact, the comparison of night duties of different length
with SAFE (System for Aircrew Fatigue Evaluation) showed that shortening the maximum
night flight duty period below 11 hours does not significantly improve the alertness scores
at the end of such period. Europe has had an excellent safety record, indeed the best ever
in recent years, under those rules. The analysis of safety occurrence data gathered over
preceding years has not shown that the limit of 11 hours at night poses a safety risk.
Moreover, under the new rules more flights will be considered night flights and subject to
shorter duty periods. Also, in the case of night duties, airlines will be required to plan
additional rest. In case of long duties they will be required to use fatigue risk management
and monitor the pilot's individual situation taking account of the duties and rest taken
before the night flight. Europe will have one of the most protective systems for night duty
in the world.
Myth #3
'The new rules are unsafe and not scientifically-based. They will only worsen the situation
of air crews flying while dangerously fatigued.'
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Not true. Over several years EASA, with the support of three independent scientific
experts specialised on aircrew fatigue, has reviewed and validated more than 50 different
scientific studies and compiled safety data and best operational practices from throughout
the European Union. As a result of a long preparation process, including two rounds of
public consultations and two impact assessments, proposed limits are equally or more
protective to the crews than those currently in force in the Member States. In the rule
development phase EASA was assisted by a group of experts from the EU stakeholders
concerned, including a balanced membership of 5 Member States, 5 members of aircrew
organisations and 5 members of airlines organisations.
20 meetings with the group of experts were held between December 2009 and September
2012. Three independent scientific experts specialised on aircrew fatigue were consulted
to review the existing scientific literature. The Commission consulted the EASA Committee
(the competent regulatory Committee for providing its advice on the draft Commission
Regulation) on 24-25 October 2012, 2-3 December 2012, 19-20 February 2013, 23-24
April 2013, and 10-12 July. The new Regulation is strongly supported by the experts of the
Member States.
When the new Regulation is adopted, Europe will have one of the safest and modern flight
duty regimes in the world. Throughout Europe, it will provide equal or better protection to
crew and passengers than today's combination of EU and national Member State rules.
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