Fit to fly ?

[Raster Scanning]

I am interested to know if flight crew who follow the teachings of Islam still fast all day during the month of Ramadan. My (limited) understanding is that they are not allowed to eat or drink during the daylight hours and then have to spend most of the night replenishing their bodies.
I have been told that at least one major middle eastern airline allows this practice to take place.
Surely this is a major safety issue? As flight crew operating with depleted blood sugar levels and in a fatigued state certainly cannot perform as well as should be expected.
This is a genuine question from an interested party, who has no axe to grind with any religion. Please do not bother to reply if you feel differently.

Raster.

[Captain Stable]

Good question, Raster.

Are there any other religions out there strict adherence to whose practices might adversely affect safety?

Anyone care to comment?

[A Very Civil Pilot]

Due to the modern world, if a muslim is travelling during the daylight fast (i.e 15 hours in the back of a 747), they are excempt from the fast, and can take refreshment as needed.

One would hope that muslim flight crew would folow the same procedure.

[Genghis the Engineer]

I seem to recall seeing an RAF FOB once which required that Muslim pilots were not allowed to fly as pilot in command after midday during Ramadan. Whether this was a local procedure following a specific case, or a general RAF rule, I honestly don't know.

I'm not a religious man, so there may be reasons why not. But, I'd have thought another approach might be for Muslim aircrew simply to be scheduled for any ground training, sim work, PR stint etc. that is not safety critical during that month - wouldn't take an organisational genius to manage this without significantly mucking up organisational efficiency.

G

[BlueEagle]

When I worked in the middle east this subject was of particular concern to me. I have experienced the overall feeling of not being quite 'up to it' when the blood sugar levels are low just through missing breakfast so the idea that a pilot would go without food all day really worried me.

I spoke with as many of the muslim pilots that I could and by far and away the majority said that they definitely could eat during the day if the nature of their work required it and flying definitely fell into this category. It was up to them if, subsequently, they arranged to fast for a number of days equal to the ones they had missed during Ramadan.

That said, I have flown with co-pilots who not only insisted on fasting but also would get out a prayer mat on the flight deck and pray!

[mutt]

By regulation they are not required to fast if traveling more than the distance covered by a camel in one day. The days lost must be made up at a later date.

I know plenty of guys who fast from a Middle Eastern sunrise to a European summer sunset. They fly a normal schedule and take pride in their ability to do so. Then there are the others who take the month as the greatest excuse in the world to do F.All.

As for praying in the cockpit, its a lot safer than going to the mosque at the aft of the passenger cabin.

Mutt.

[A Very Civil Pilot]

BluEagle - perehaps it was his way of letting you know he wasn't happy doing an NDB approach! :D

[BlueEagle]

Well, I never thought of that!

In fairness they always did it in the cruise phase. We didn't have a dedicated area down the back.

[CAT1]

I think I might get worried about flying with a Rastafarian.....

[411A]

Sometimes the co-pilot would ask...hey skipper, how descending so sunset comes quicker...and I always did so if plenty of fuel was available.....and the fuel was cheap at 18 cents per gallon...the view was interesting at FL170, whistling along at barber pole minus five. The opinion from the fleet managers office was...OK with us. Keep the locals happy...smile at your bankbook, every month.

[mutt]

411A, what about the FA's who want to fly as high as possible to avoid sunset. I guess that you just cant please everyone............


Now can anyone explain to me why someone starts a discussion topic such as this and then never gets involved in the discussion?

Mutt.

[411A]

Well mutt....in answer to your question, we just slowed down a bit at destination and/or a full procedural ILS...left enough time for the FA's to complete the service....always tried to please.

[Semaphore Sam]

Getting dispatchers to respond to requests for re-release (or re-dispatch) during breakfast was/is difficult; imagine diverting because someone was eating labna & dates instead of listening to the HF in a dispatch office!

Also, I've heard of requests for landing clearance going unheeded because tower personnel were breaking fast; tower 'unmanned' up to 25 minutes (gotta keep their priorities straight!).

Could go on and on!

[safety_worker]

[QUOTE]".....they definitely could eat during the day if the nature of their work required it and flying definitely fell into this category. It was up to them if, subsequently, they arranged to fast for a number of days equal to the ones they had missed during Ramadan. ..."
We have a memo published (but the newcomers don't get it) which is confirmed by a govt. top 'mullah', that reads moreorless the same thing. They are exempted from fasting while flying, however they will have to fast the required nuber of days in total , when appropriate.
Now, having said that, you can fill in a confidential report (i do) as the person who insists on fasting during the flight (can you exempt an early morning one sector short flight?) is not an advocator of flight safety.