EU to unveil flight time limits for pilots
Brussels - The European air safety agency says it will unveil on Monday a new proposal to combat pilot fatigue, known as the "silent killer" of civil aviation.
The new rules, which come into effect in 2012, will limit flight hours for air crews and standardise the current hodgepodge of national regulations across the continent.
The proposal would bar airlines from scheduling pilots to be on duty - both waiting to fly or in the cockpit flying - longer than 14 hours in a day. Nighttime work hours would be reduced to 12.
The European pilots association said that the agency buckled under pressure from the airlines. The association said in a statement the proposal ignores independent research into fatigue affecting aircrew, which recommends a maximum of 12 hours on duty during daytime and 10 hours at night.