Airline staffing crisis raises concerns about pilot fatigue

A new report that two airline pilots fell asleep mid-flight and missed the plane’s landing has given the public a strange glimpse into life behind the cabin doors in the era of COVID-19[feminine].

A pair of Ethiopian Airlines pilots took simultaneous naps when they were supposed to land the plane, according to industry news site Aviation Herald. They woke up once the autopilot went off and set off an alarm.

While investigators are looking into exactly what happened during the flight, one thing is already well known: Airlines around the world are facing a shortage of pilots and other flight crew members, which may lead to burnout and burnout of workers.

“I think it reflects a growing concern that pilots have around the world that they’re just overworked, they need to work more overtime because of this pilot shortage,” said Lindsey Roeschke, travel and hospitality analyst at Morning Consult , on CBS News.

What’s behind the pilot shortage?

As COVID-19 was spreading in 2020 and 2021, when airline operations came to a near halt, airlines offered early retirement to thousands of pilots in an effort to cut costs. The aging workforce has also caused a significant number of older pilots to retire as planned, further reducing the number of pilots available.

In the meantime, there is no quick fix, Roeschke said, noting that even raising wages is ineffective because it simply incentivizes pilots to move to higher-paying airlines rather than expanding the pilot pool.

“Airlines can hire as many staff as they want, but it takes a long time for pilots to be trained, certified. It’s not just a time commitment, it’s a financial commitment to invest for pilots when they’re initially going through those steps.” , Roeschke said. “So, unfortunately, it has a long tail, everything that happened during the pandemic.”

The best way to curb pilot fatigue as well as reduce the burden flight delays and cancellations affecting the airline industry lately is for airlines to reduce their schedules, experts say. Along those lines, London’s Heathrow Airport this summer said it would limit the number of daily passengers to 100,000 and also told airlines to stop selling tickets on summer flights.

“That’s not what we want to hear as travelers, but at the same time reducing some of these routes and reducing the expectations of how many flights the airlines will actually be able to operate will help avoid these last-minute delays and cancellations.” , he said.

Roeschke added: “In the short term, flights may be a little harder to get, maybe a little more expensive, maybe a little more crowded, which of course is frustrating to feel as passengers. But it will help deter that. Those who show up at the airport and find out ‘your flight is cancelled’ that kind of experience, they’re worse than the alternative.”