The situation in Air Mauritius and Ryanair – each with its own thread here on PPRuNe - have a number of important parallels with similar, and less well publicised, events involving pilot fatigue. We have reached the point where inappropriate management intervention has apparently become relatively normal. Only a few pilots seem to appreciate how significant these developments have become.
To my mind the key things to note are:
(a) the responsibility for behaving in the correct way lies exclusively with the pilot,
(b) the power to make the pilot’s life difficult (at a minimum) lies with the employer,
(c) the willingness of employers to directly interfere on issues of duty time has increased markedly, especially at the low cost end of the spectrum,
(d) those intervening are often management pilots who are also postholders with legal obligations, and,
(e) Aviation Authorities are remarkably slow (cautious if you are feeling charitable) to respond to claims that malpractice or inappropriate behaviour occurs in this area.
The overall effect is to ensure that those pilots who think it appropriate to “keep a low profile” will do as their employer bids. This is not what is expected from the safety perspective, nor what is required from a legal perspective.
The behaviour of management at both Ryanair and Air Mauritius gives rise to concern not least because they both seem to feel that they have a right to behave as they do and, if challenged, to agressively go after individuals. At the same time, stories attacking the integrity and motivation of individual pilots begin to appear. These techniques are now becoming relatively common.
There seems to be little ability or willingness on the part of Aviation Authorities or ICAO to recognise the gradual erosion of a long established safety barrier. It is equally worth noting that fatigue is not a much used reason for failing to report for duty.
We will not have heard the end of this particular problem until some action is taken. Clearly the imbalance is between the responsibility carried by each individual licence holder and his or her power to act on that responsibility without suffering direct or indirect consequences. Some attention to the willingness of management pilots to look to their responsibilities might also be appropriate. So we might be waiting for a little while for any real action …