Nearly a quarter of European airline pilots routinely operate flights despite feeling too fatigued to work, according to an August survey of almost 7,200 captains and first officers by the European Cockpit Association, which also revealed widespread reliance on involuntary microsleeps across the continent’s flight decks.
Microsleeps and Exhaustion Across European Flight Decks
Three-quarters of European airline pilots experienced at least one microsleep—a brief, involuntary episode of sleep—while operating an aircraft in the four weeks leading up to an August survey conducted by the European Cockpit Association. The findings, drawn from responses submitted by nearly 7,200 captains and first officers, point to persistent exhaustion driven by long duty hours, insufficient rest periods, irregular schedules, and flights across time zones that disrupt natural sleep cycles.
While aviation safety regulations across Europe require airlines to maintain formal systems for identifying and managing crew fatigue, the survey indicates a sharp divide between regulatory mandates and cockpit reality. Almost a quarter of respondents, exactly 24%, admitted they usually continue flying rather than declaring themselves unfit for duty when exhausted. Another 16.8% stated they call in sick instead of using official fatigue reporting channels, while half acknowledged they had operated a flight in the three months prior to the survey when fatigue should have grounded them.
Fear of Retaliation and Distrust in Airline Reporting Systems
The reluctance to report exhaustion stems largely from professional vulnerability rather than a lack of awareness regarding safety risks. Nearly half of all survey participants reported fearing negative consequences from airline management if they declared themselves unfit due to fatigue, and just 11.9% expressed trust in their employer’s fatigue reporting system.
This survey captures how European pilots experience fatigue risk management in practice.
Ian Holder, managing director of the aviation safety consultancy Baines Simmons
Ian Holder noted that while the findings reflect first-hand pilot experiences rather than direct measurements of safety incidents, the consistency of the data over three years highlights clear areas demanding attention according to the aviation safety consultancy Baines Simmons. Holder pointed to Finland and the Netherlands as proof that stronger fatigue reporting cultures are achievable within the industry.
National Variations and Pressure on Low-Cost Carriers
The prevalence of flying while fatigued varied significantly across jurisdictions and airline business models. Pilots flying for airlines based in Ireland and Malta reported the highest levels of microsleeps and the deepest distrust of reporting systems. Meanwhile, the proportion of pilots who admitted they usually fly when fatigued reached two in five in Spain, and stood at roughly a third for those based in Ireland and France. By contrast, only one in 10 pilots flying for UK-based carriers reported continuing to fly under similar exhaustion.
Company structures also correlated with divergent perceptions of risk. Only 15.6% of pilots working at low-cost carriers believed their airline managed fatigue risks effectively, compared with 18.6% of pilots at ACMI—or wet-lease—operators that supply aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance to other carriers as reported in industry coverage.
Commander Discretion and Calls for Regulatory Reform
Almost two in five pilots reported using commander’s discretion—a mechanism allowing captains to extend crew working hours or reduce rest periods during exceptional circumstances—at least once in the month before the study. Yet nearly 70% of respondents expressed concern about refusing such duty extensions, indicating substantial workplace pressure surrounding a tool meant strictly for emergencies.
Capt Tanja Harter, president of the European Cockpit Association, emphasized that managing exhaustion cannot remain the sole responsibility of flight crews highlighting the findings from the ECA report.
This cannot be simply left to us – the pilots – to manage, while we are on the flight deck and expected to bring our passengers safely to their destination.
Tanja Harter, president of the European Cockpit Association
Harter called on the European Union Aviation Safety Agency to strengthen oversight, enforce non-punitive reporting requirements, and monitor the proper application of commander’s discretion. Waiting for another three years to discover that nothing has changed is simply not an option,
she added, noting that the pilot community is prepared to contribute solutions if political will follows.