In commercial aviation, crew schedules are regulated by duty time limits, flight time limits, minimum rest rules and other constraints. These rules and limits, collectively referred to as flight time limitations (FTLs), originally were conceived as a simple scheme for limiting fatigue among flight crewmembers.
Over time, FTLs have evolved, driven by industrial pressures or new scientific data, or to cope with changing aircraft capabilities. Today, there are major differences among FTL schemes in different parts of the world affecting crew productivity, crew alertness — and airline competitiveness.
With the results of new research on sleep and work-related fatigue in hand, it becomes useful to compare existing regulations with the new findings.
FTLs are relatively straightforward, and, combined with labor agreements and other safeguards, they do a reasonable job of protecting alertness under most circumstances. Unfortunately, FTLs tend to be extremely rigid and limit operatio…
