Nine out of 10 pilots fall asleep during flights in Germany due to unreasonable flight schedules

A survey in Germany revealed that more than nine out of ten pilots said they had "taken a nap" during a flight.
According to a report in the British daily newspaper The Guardian on the 10th (local time), the German pilots' union (
In a survey recently published by the Vereinigung Cockpit, 93 percent of the 900 or so unionized pilots surveyed said they had dozed off during a flight.
Of the pilots who have experienced dozing, 12% answered that they doze off "every time they fly," 44% answered "regularly," and 33% answered "occasionally."
"Cockpit crews suffer from chronic fatigue," explained the vice president of the German Pilots' Union.
The cause of this "sleeping" is believed to be unreasonable flight schedules and financial pressure.
The European Pilots' Association (ECA), a European pilot trade union, said in a report released in July that "the cost-cutting race that has been going on for several years and the humanitarian crisis that has followed the COVID-19 virus outbreak have led to a rise in the number of pilots.
"The shortage of personnel is pushing pilots to their limits," he said. In particular, he pointed out that "night flights, which disrupt biological rhythms, and consecutive flights without rest are increasing fatigue."