According to the pilots union, BALPA, there is a growing problem of fatigue among flight crew. It has have voiced concern that this will worsen under EU proposals to increase flying hours from 900 hours every 12 months to 1,000. A study commissioned by BALPA and carried out by University College, London, has found that one in five pilots complain of tiredness. It sent a questionnaire to pilots working for one major airline and received a 47% response. Of the 492 pilots who participated in the survey, 45% said they suffered from “significant fatigue”. One in five said that their ability to fly an aircraft was “compromised” more than once a week.
One pilot who did not want to be named, told the BBC that both he and his co-pilot had been asleep during a flight. After getting very little sleep during their rest period the co-pilot took a scheduled break to take nap on the subsequent flight. The pilot then fell asleep for about 10 minutes. "When I woke up, it was a big adrenalin rush. The first thing you do obviously is check your height and your speeds and all of your instrumentation," he told the BBC.