London:
More than half of Britain's airline pilots have fallen asleep in the cockpit and a third have woken up to find their co-pilot asleep, according to a new survey.
The poll of 500 pilots commissioned by the British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA) also found that 43 percent believed tiredness had compromised their ability to fly a plane at least once a month for the last six months.
Some 56 percent admitted they had fallen asleep during a flight and 29 percent said they had woken up to find the other pilot had also dozed off, according to the ComRes poll.
The survey comes after it emerged that both the captain and co-pilot of an Airbus A330 plane fell asleep at the same time while it was on autopilot during a flight by an unnamed British operator on August 13.
The Civil Aviation Authority said one of the pilots had reported that the pair had only five hours' sleep each for the previous two nights.
Nearly half of the pilots questioned by the BALPA -- 49 percent -- identified tiredness as the biggest threat to flight safety, while a third said their airline's culture discouraged them from reporting their tiredness.
Media reports said the airline involved in the August incident was Virgin Atlantic, but the company said: "No safety reports have been received about pilots falling asleep simultaneously whilst in control of an aircraft."
The BALPA survey comes ahead of a vote in the European parliament on Monday on proposals to set out maximum working hours for pilots and other airline staff.
BALPA has described the changes as "dangerous", saying they could require pilots to stay awake for 22 hours at a stretch.
This would give pilots a "level of tiredness that is the equivalent of being four times over the legal alcohol limit for flying", the group claimed.
"Tiredness is already a major challenge for pilots who are deeply concerned that unscientific new EU rules will cut UK standards," said BALPA's General Secretary Jim McAuslan.
Among other limits, the new regulations would mean European pilots would be unable to fly or wait at an airport on standby for more than 16 hours.
While this is a lower limit than that currently in place in some EU countries -- such as Spain, where they can fly and be on standby for up to 26 hours at a stretch -- it is higher than the current British limit of 14 hours.
The European Commission denied that the proposals would reduce safety standards.
"Any impression that is being given that the proposals would weaken those rules is false and irresponsible," a spokeswoman said.
"Safety is the first priority for the EU. We agree that pilot fatigue is a very serious issue," she added.
The changes would also ban airlines from forcing cabin crew to take their in-flight rest in economy class seats.
The poll of 500 pilots commissioned by the British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA) also found that 43 percent believed tiredness had compromised their ability to fly a plane at least once a month for the last six months.
Some 56 percent admitted they had fallen asleep during a flight and 29 percent said they had woken up to find the other pilot had also dozed off, according to the ComRes poll.
The survey comes after it emerged that both the captain and co-pilot of an Airbus A330 plane fell asleep at the same time while it was on autopilot during a flight by an unnamed British operator on August 13.
The Civil Aviation Authority said one of the pilots had reported that the pair had only five hours' sleep each for the previous two nights.
Nearly half of the pilots questioned by the BALPA -- 49 percent -- identified tiredness as the biggest threat to flight safety, while a third said their airline's culture discouraged them from reporting their tiredness.
Media reports said the airline involved in the August incident was Virgin Atlantic, but the company said: "No safety reports have been received about pilots falling asleep simultaneously whilst in control of an aircraft."
The BALPA survey comes ahead of a vote in the European parliament on Monday on proposals to set out maximum working hours for pilots and other airline staff.
BALPA has described the changes as "dangerous", saying they could require pilots to stay awake for 22 hours at a stretch.
This would give pilots a "level of tiredness that is the equivalent of being four times over the legal alcohol limit for flying", the group claimed.
"Tiredness is already a major challenge for pilots who are deeply concerned that unscientific new EU rules will cut UK standards," said BALPA's General Secretary Jim McAuslan.
Among other limits, the new regulations would mean European pilots would be unable to fly or wait at an airport on standby for more than 16 hours.
While this is a lower limit than that currently in place in some EU countries -- such as Spain, where they can fly and be on standby for up to 26 hours at a stretch -- it is higher than the current British limit of 14 hours.
The European Commission denied that the proposals would reduce safety standards.
"Any impression that is being given that the proposals would weaken those rules is false and irresponsible," a spokeswoman said.
"Safety is the first priority for the EU. We agree that pilot fatigue is a very serious issue," she added.
The changes would also ban airlines from forcing cabin crew to take their in-flight rest in economy class seats.
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