Three in Four European Pilots Report Microsleeps in the Cockpit

A new survey of European pilots paints an uncomfortable picture of tiredness in the cockpit. The European Cockpit Association commissioned the aviation safety consultancy Baines Simmons to poll about 7,200 captains and first officers, and 76.8 percent said they had experienced at least one involuntary microsleep while operating an aircraft in the previous four weeks. Roughly a quarter reported five or more.

Reporting was patchy. Only 37.2 percent said they usually declared themselves unfit to fly when fatigue affected their ability to work safely, while 24.2 percent generally carried on without reporting it. About 69 percent worried about what might happen if they refused a duty extension under the commander’s discretion provision, and nearly two in five had used that provision at least once in the past four weeks.

Confidence in employers was lowest at low-cost carriers, where just 15.6 percent of pilots thought fatigue risks were managed effectively, and at wet-lease operators, at 18.6 percent. Airlines based in Ireland and Malta were among the weaker performers on several measures, though the report does not claim every airline in those countries has the same problems. The findings suggest little meaningful progress since a similar 2023 survey.

The survey does not show that fatigue caused any particular accident, and no airline or regulator response was reported. The pilots’ association wants fatigue reporting to stay non-punitive and says commanders should be able to refuse extensions without professional consequences. Board director Coen George warned that pilots may stay silent if they fear career repercussions, and called on airlines to take more responsibility for managing fatigue.

Sources: Aviation A2Z, European Cockpit Association