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Flight crew evaluation of the flight time limitations regulation

Efthymiou, Marina orcid logoORCID: 0000-0001-8611-5973, Whiston, Sinead, O'Connell, John F. and Brown, Gavin D. orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-2555-4192 (2021) Flight crew evaluation of the flight time limitations regulation. Case Studies on Transport Policy, 9 . pp. 280-290. ISSN 2213-624X

Abstract
Fatigue has been a long-standing concern in modern aviation. The duty hours of those who operate (cabin crew and pilots) have increased significantly. In order to combat the effects of fatigue, operators must adhere to Flight Time Limitations (FTLs) strictly set by regulatory bodies. With advances in the science of fatigue, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in February 2016 altered the duty limits and rest periods. A quantitative selfreport survey design using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests of association and probit regressions with marginal effect calculations gathered the crew perceptions about the impact of the FTL regulation change to fatigue levels, reporting and safety/just culture. Participants (n = 794) were commercial cabin crew and pilots operating under European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regulations. 73.2% said they have not reported fatigue to their airline and 81.7% having operated fatigued. Scales on Fatigue Knowledge and Just/Safety Culture were constructed. Each point increase on the 6-item Just/Safety Culture scale shows that respondents are 8.6 percentage points less likely to operate fatigued. This study signifies that fatigue is under-reported and is a real risk to safety in the aviation industry. A substantial change to the existing safety culture should be encouraged and the fatigue’s safety implications should not be underestimated and safety be compromised for maximum aircraft and labour utilisation.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:Flight fatigue; Flight time limitations; Aviation; safety culture; Aviation Incident reporting; Just culture
Subjects:UNSPECIFIED
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > DCU Business School
Publisher:Elsevier
Official URL:https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2021.01.002
Copyright Information:© 2021 The Authors. Open Access (CC-BY-4.0)
ID Code:25604
Deposited On:15 Mar 2021 13:48 by Marina Efthymiou . Last Modified 15 Mar 2021 13:48
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