Originally Posted by
disconnected
The National article is misleading. The UAE GCAA regulations allow a pilot to work up to 60 hours duty in 7 days. It's there in black and white. That's almost 9 hrs a day every day for 7 days at any time of day or night.
The media (with help from the airlines) confuse flying hours with working hours. There is much work to be done before, after and in between flights. Few other industries demand this and certainly airline office staff only work 40 hours in 7 days. Of course a pilot will be fatigued if pushed toward the 60 hour limit in a noisy, vibrating, excessively dry, oxygen reduced and often stressful environment. Airlines in the UAE push these limits. The public must be made aware that their family may be flying with the pilots near the end of a 60 hour week.
It's appropriate to correct the media and the public with the true numbers of how much work a pilot can be pushed to do .
60 a week or 190 in 28 days. That's up to 2470 hours a year.
Those are the facts.
Even the public can see these limits are excessive, dangerous and plainly wrong.
The hours flown/worked in a month are only part of the issue.
It is also important to consider what kind of flying makes up those hours. 90 hours long-haul vs short-haul vs regional are quite different. Each has its positives and negatives. When the 90 hours can encompass all 3 types in one month it creates a schedule unlike any other. More days worked with less time to recover between duties.
Now also consider how much of that work is back side of the clock and it paints a very different picture again.
So while it may be " legal" it doesn't make such schedules advisable.