93 percent of German pilots nap while working due to staff shortages

A recent survey by a German pilots’ union has found that staff shortages and overworking are forcing under-slept pilots to nap while working.

Under-slept German pilots napping in cockpits

A survey conducted by a German pilots’ union, Vereinigung Cockpit, has found that 93 percent of German pilots have napped while working in the cockpit in recent months.

12 percent of respondents admitted to napping during every flight, 44 percent admitted to napping regularly, 33 percent to napping occasionally, 3 percent said cockpit naps were a one-off and 7 percent said they couldn’t count how many times they had napped while working.

Of the 900 pilots who took part in the survey, 481 worked for Lufthansa and 101 for Lufthansa Cargo. A smaller number of respondents work for Eurowings, Condor, Ryanair, Lufthansa Discover and easyJet, among other airlines.

However, the union warned that the survey was not representative, i.e. a wider and more diverse group of pilots would need to respond to the survey for the results to more accurately represent the prevalence of cockpit napping.

Cockpit napping has become the norm, warns Dieseldorff

The survey’s results suggest that cockpit napping has become the norm among many German pilots. “What was originally intended as a short-term recovery measure has turned into a permanent answer to structural pressure,” VC vice president Katharina Dieseldorff said in a press release.

“A short nap is not critical in and of itself. But a permanently exhausted cockpit crew is a significant risk,” Dieseldorff continued. Many industries in Germany are currently impacted by the country’s record-high worker shortage, which is putting pressure on existing employees everywhere from Kitas and immigration authorities to IT specialists.

“A company culture which undermines or ignores exhaustion is a safety risk,” Dieseldorff said in an appeal, demanding “airlines, public authorities and politicians act to protect crews and passengers”.