Pilots to fly sleepy

last updated 8 January 2015

Brussels

Airline unions across the EU are protesting a proposed plan to extend the maximum hours pilots are allowed to fly. The EU wants to allow pilots to be on flight duty for 14 hours at a stretch, rather than the 12 allowed under many EU countries’ regulations. British union spokesman Mervyn Granshaw said the proposal was the result of “the sorry spectacle of politicians trying to decide what hours should be flown and when. They came to a shoddy compromise which is unsafe, unsound, and impractical.” He cited a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration study that found that pilots who worked 13 hours or more became fatigued and were far more likely to crash. European transport ministers said they were merely trying to standardize flying regulations across the EU.