DANNY LEEdanny.lee@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 20 September, 2015, 3:25am
UPDATED : Sunday, 20 September, 2015, 3:25am
Senior Cathay Pacific pilots said they felt compelled to speak out “as custodians of a safe flying culture.” Photo: Felix Wong
Flight safety is under threat as exhausted aircrews cope with increasing workloads, senior Cathay Pacific pilots have warned in a letter to the airline’s management that is seen by the Sunday Morning Post.
Cathay responded by saying safety was its top priority. The carrier confirmed having received the letter, which it said “expressed some concerns”.
According to the airline’s most experienced captains in the 1,900-word letter, bearing nearly 100 signatures, rank-and-file pilots were “tired and worn out” as they were routinely hitting the cap on flying hours – known as approved flight time limitation (AFTL) – governed by Hong Kong’s aviation regulator to prevent fatigue. This came after a rostering practices agreement between the airline and its pilots was recently axed.
One pilot who declined to be named so as not to breach company policy said aircrews working up to the maximum flying hours regularly risked an accident sooner or later.
“The AFTL is an ultimate barrier,” the source said. “The concern we have is, if you’re working right up to that barrier continuously, it’s not sensible. It’s like driving at the speed limit the entire time.
“You are generating cumulative fatigue the whole time and when you start your next duty, you haven’t recovered fully.”
The signatories of the letter said: “We feel strongly that these concerns need to be heard at the highest levels within the company and be placed on the record.”
They cited a “recent fatigue-related incident” by a pilot blamed on fatigue. Cathay did not address the incident in a reply to the Post.
The Civil Aviation Department stressed aviation safety was its “topmost priority”.
It pledged to seek more information from Cathay about the letter to ensure all requirements of the department were fully complied with.
READ MORE: Cathay Pacific pilots continue industrial action over rostering
Senior pilots penned the warning letter a week after their employer cancelled on August 12 an industrial agreement with their union dictating flying hours and minimum cockpit manpower levels.
“We the undersigned are writing to you to express our utmost concern and alarm at the recent termination of our [agreement], specifically the potential change in crewing levels and how this may effect fatigue levels and, by extension flight safety,” the letter, addressed to director of flight operations Anna Thompson, said.
The senior pilots said they felt compelled to speak out “as custodians of a safe flying culture” within the airline and “have a responsibility … to voice our concern” on what was happening.
The final sentence of the letter stated: "The way in which pilots are rostered for work needs to be fixed as a matter of urgency and needs to be fixed with the active participation of pilots, not by the unilateral actions of the Company."
The rostering of pilots had intensified because of a long-term chronic shortage of pilots, they warned. It also stated the growing workload contributed to illness and long-term sickness among the workforce.
An airline spokeswoman said: “We are looking at these concerns and engaging directly with the pilots. Matters which relate to safety are always dealt with in a formal manner and they receive our utmost attention. The safety of passengers and crew is the No 1 priority.”
The airline said it had a fatigue risk management system, with the support of the pilots’ union, to manage fatigue-related issues.
Cathay’s pilot union, the Aircrew Officers Association, declined to comment directly on the letter because it was not initiated by the union. However, it said it had taken the lead to address the issue.
The Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995 requires that crew self-report possible fatigue and should not act as a member of an aircrew, Hong Kong’s aviation regulator said.
A Civil Aviation Department spokeswoman said it found “no adverse trend” in the breach of pilot flying hours.
Of a fatigue-related aviation incident, the aviation regulator said it will press Cathay Pacific for details and ask “for the details of the referred event and will take follow-up action if necessary,"
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1859802/exhausted-pilots-tell-cathay-their-workloads-are-threat-flight-safety
