{"id":121334,"date":"2022-01-29T19:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-29T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/?p=121334"},"modified":"2022-01-29T22:24:54","modified_gmt":"2022-01-29T22:24:54","slug":"qatar-airways-pilots-warn-about-unaccounted-working-hours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/2022\/01\/qatar-airways-pilots-warn-about-unaccounted-working-hours.html","title":{"rendered":"Qatar Airways pilots warn about unaccounted working hours and hidden fatigue."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pilots at Qatar Airways<\/strong> say the state-owned airline is under-counting their work hours and ignoring complaints of fatigue – a safety breach that hurts staff health and risks passenger lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The testimony demonstrates how worker abuse extends even to the Gulf nation\u2019s high-skill industries, as Qatar Airways tries to minimise crew downtime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is obviously a huge health and safety issue for the pilots themselves – and the people they\u2019re flying,\u201d said Isobel Archer of the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2192 Qatar Airways releases video, hits back at Airbus in A350 paint dispute.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The revelations come months before Qatar hosts its first World Cup with Qatar Airways – as lead sponsor – hoping to be football\u2019s carrier of choice. But pilots worry about the risks fans could run, saying ultra-long flights are now operated by short-staffed and exhausted crews, a pressure only made worse by the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI fell asleep during the descent with 400 passengers on board,\u201d recalled Erik of one such 20-hour flight that he landed safely at the carrier\u2019s Doha base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t do anything. Your body is just screaming for rest. You feel the pain inside of your chest, and you\u2019re unable to keep your eyes open,\u201d the first officer told the Reuters<\/a>, using a pseudonym so he could speak more freely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Erik and six other flight crew members said the airline\u2019s work hours were driving them into exhaustion and that managers were refusing to give them enough rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many did not even file fatigue reports, fearing additional scrutiny from an airline that made thousands of staff redundant in the pandemic. Others said their reports were ignored or didn\u2019t get rest to match the shift worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2192 Qatar Airways ready purchase up to 50 777X Freighter.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re overworked and fatigued \u2013 but I never filled out a fatigue report because I don\u2019t want to be in the spotlight,\u201d said Erik.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The manual states that for fatigue mitigation, \u201cin-flight rest does not count as flight time\u201d, straying from a standard calculation used by most civil aviation authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey count the hours in a different way. Not so long ago I was the \u2018third pilot\u2019 on duty \u2013 my duty was monitoring the pilots in the front, so I was 100% active,\u201d Erik said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe flight time was one hour and 33 minutes, but the counted time was only three minutes. That\u2019s what went towards my flying limit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two fellow first officers logged in-flight hours for the first two weeks of January that exceeded 115 hours, above the 28-day limit of 100 hours listed in the airline\u2019s own manual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reuters asked Qatar Airways whether it had noted an increase in fatigue or related safety concerns, how it calculated work and rest hours, and whether it was taking steps to make staff more comfortable with reporting fatigue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesperson said the company was engaging with employees \u201cto ensure that the rest time and rostering needs of our Flight Crew team are strictly balanced with the airline\u2019s operational requirements, especially given the unique challenges facing the global commercial aviation sector.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The airline indicated that it had implemented “enhanced conditions for hours worked,” but did not provide details and said it was working to put in place “the most rigorous fatigue risk management program.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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