Pilots who fly long-haul flights and those in short- and medium-haul operations1 face different challenges in obtaining sufficient sleep and experience different sets of sleep-related problems, according to results of a study published in Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, the journal of the Aerospace Medical Association.2
Therefore, aviation authorities should consider adopting different regulatory flight and duty time limits for the two groups, said the report on the study, published in the September issue.
The report noted that previous research has found that pilots in both groups associate their fatigue with a number of factors, including overnight flights, jet lag, early-morning wakeups, crossing multiple time zones, multiple flight sectors and “consecutive duty periods without adequate recovery breaks.”3
The report said that the higher incidence of sleep disturbances in long-haul pilots may be a result of more nighttime flyin…
