Blue
In my opinion (none nigel) Yes.
Why -
because the 2 week limit will give you protection from the hard week.
because you state it's for good reason (high sickness levels - was this a one off?)
Was it over school hols when crews on holiday?
If i'm to change my mind to No
What are your other average weeks duty hours, is this the norm because Crewing levels are low?
What does the 55hrs consist of? Nights, days, lates or maybe sby time?
The CAA don't have a problem with running to 60 hrs as long as not a trend. In terms of risk of running past 60 hours then that's the Companies problem not yours as they should be monitoring weekly duty
