Almost all German pilots have admitted to napping during flights due to exhaustion caused by staff shortages and overworking, a survey has found.
The pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit surveyed more than 900 of its members, more than half of them from Lufthansa.
However it also surveyed 64 participants from Ryanair and three from EasyJet.
The union found that 93pc said they had napped on a flight in the past few months.
“The reasons they gave were tight schedules, staff shortages and operational pressure”
The union said that 12pc admitted to napping during every flight, 44pc napped regularly, 33pc napped occasionally and 7pc could no longer count how often they had napped. Just 3pc said that they had napped as a one-off.
Katharina Dieseldorff, the vice president of the union, said: “Pilots report to us that they complete their missions despite being extremely fatigued.
“The reasons they gave us are tight schedules, staff shortages and increasing operational pressure.
“Napping has long been the norm in German cockpits. What was originally intended as a short-term recovery measure has developed into a permanent remedy for structural overload.”
The union said that pilots were working in a corporate culture that had ignored the tiredness of its staff, which worsened even more in the summer months.
It said that it had tried to draw attention to the problem for years, along with other unions.
“A short nap is not critical in itself. However, a permanently exhausted cockpit crew poses a significant risk,” Mrs.Dieseldorff said. In the context of the survey, “napping” referred to controlled rest periods, the union said, and did not mean sleep during takeoff or landing.
Of those who had admitted to napping, 44pc said it was on short-haul flights, and 56pc said it was on long-haul flights.
The union said it demanded decisive action from airlines, authorities, and politicians.
