Pilots' health and safety
- Shelly Asquith
- Feb 28
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 26
On 26th February, the APPG hosted a group representing BALPA, the pilots union. A group of MPs and peers heard from the delegation on the ongoing challenges facing pilots and some of the changes required in order to improve occupational safety, health and welfare.
While the aviation industry takes flight safety very seriously, it is not always the case that working conditions for pilots are safe. BALPA delegates made the point that we cannot disregard workers' OSH and expect to run a safe service. As one pilot said "an absence of accidents doesn't mean things are safe". In the meeting, pilots made the following points:
Regulatory failures. There is a 'regulatory gap' whereby the HSE and the CAA, both with oversight, creates complexity, and this needs addressing with an improved memorandum of understanding. There have been numerous instances of the Safety Reps and Safety Committees regulations being flouted, and the HSE is refusing to enforce these. The response to complaints from HSE has fallen far short of what should be expected. The HSE has also failed to include safety reps in follow-ups which is supposed to be standard practise. If employers know that HSE will take no action, they can freely flout these regulations. "The Health and Safety Executive is fundamentally failing to allow health and safety reps to carry out their function before a problem becomes fatal or life-changing" - a BALPA pilot
Welfare facilities. The right to use a toilet at work needs addressing. Pilots are frequently unable to use a toilet. Airlines should provide sanitary items for passengers, pilots and crew. It should not be up to the workforce to be providing these, or finding themselves short mid-flight.
Extreme working temperatures. Pilots are exposed to a wide range of temperatures whilst on the ground. For example, it can become very hot on board an aircraft when its air conditioning cannot be used because of unavailability of external ground power coupled with airport noise regulations that prevent the use of the aircraft’s own Auxiliary Power Unit. The onus of what to do is put on the captain, which is not fair – suffer the heat or turn on the APU and risk breaching noise limits – they can face arrest in certain jurisdictions depending on the decision that is made. A running engine is dangerous for ground crew, so passengers and crew also have no comfort when a flight is held up. Conversely, it can also be very cold at certain locations when pilots complete the external pre-flight inspection of their aircraft.
Working time. Pilots have amongst the least protection on working time of any workers in Britain. Legal limits have become targets, driven up by companies seeking to boost 'productivity' and profits. Rest breaks have also been driven down to legal minimums, and pilots face burnout and a huge impact on their work/life balance. One pilot reported that "we are finding pilots are sleeping at the controls on nearly every flight."
Comments