Pilot fatigue in short-haul operations: effects of number of sectors, duty length, and time of day

Abstract

Introduction: There is little research on what factors are associated with fatigue in short-haul pilots. The aim was to investigate how length of duty, number of sectors, time of day, and departure airport affect fatigue levels in short-haul operations.

Methods: Pilots completed Samn-Perelli fatigue ratings prior to descent at the end of each rostered short-haul duty over a 12-wk period. Overall, 1370 usable responses were collected (67% of rostered duties) and fatigue scores were examined in relation to the departure airport, the number of sectors flown, time, and the length of duty period.

Results: The most important influences on fatigue were the number of sectors and duty length. These were associated with fatigue in a linear fashion. Time of day had a weaker influence, with lower levels at midday and increased fatigue later in the day. Fatigue was also higher during duties originating from an airport where pilots needed to position the night before and spend the night in a hotel.

Discussion: Data from the study enabled the quantification of fatigue at this critical phase of flight in duties lasting between 2 and 12 h and finishing between 08:00 to 24:00. The data obtained may be useful for identifying factors associated with fatigue, evaluating existing fatigue models, and identifying or predicting problem duties within an airline operation. The methodology used in the study may be successfully applied to gather fatigue data in other airline operations.