One airline CEO came up with a unique way to reduce flight cancellations as chaos gripped the aviation industry this summer: Telling staff to take less time off.
Jozsef Valradi, CEO at Wizz Air, a European low-cost carrier, said to employees this week that many were taking too much time off because of fatigue and that sometimes it was necessary to go the extra mile.
The industry takes pilot fatigue seriously, and the Flight Safety Foundation calls it “an internationally recognized issue related the larger issue of fitness for service.” The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has published a 148-page report about handling fatigue among crew members. Additionally, the FAA produces awareness videos for the industry.
Fatigue was also a factor in the American Airlines Flight 1420 crash that killed 11 people in 1999.
The European Cockpit Association recorded the comment and shared it on social media.
Varadi states in the video: “Now that everybody is getting back to work, I understand fatigue is a possible outcome of the problems. However, once the rosters are stabilized, we must also reduce the fatigue rate.
“We can’t run this business if every fifth member of a base reports sickness, because they are fatigued.
“We all feel tired. Sometimes, it’s necessary to go an extra mile.
The damage that we do to a flight is immense. It is a reputational loss for the brand. We also have to compensate for the transactional damages.
Wizz Air spokesperson said the comment was directed towards all airline workers and not pilots.
The spokesperson stated that the clip was taken from a briefing for all staff, not just pilots but also cabin crew members. It covers key business updates as well as current aviation challenges. All airlines are affected by supply chain issues, including staff availability and welfare.
“Our crew availability has been very low at 4%. This was the context in which it was discussed that we should go the extra mile to minimize disruption. This does not mean compromising safety.
Safety is our top priority. Wizz Air and the entire airline industry are tightly regulated. Our crew management system is robust and responsible, which allows us to meet the needs of our employees and allow us to serve as many clients as possible in this challenging environment.
“All it takes to make a mistake”
Aedrian Becker, a UK-based aviation psychologist and director at the Centre for Aviation Psychology, said that although Varadi wasn’t specifically targeting pilots, it doesn’t mean that it’s any worse. He called staff absence “a sign of morale.”
“If an organisation has an issue with staff sickness, it is often because of the organization. He stated that telling pilots to “suck it up” is against every ounce of safety management in the past 20 years.
“Many pilots who work in large airlines feel like commodities. They are often treated as commodities and their legal limits are exceeded. Then they are disposed of when they’re no longer needed.”
He said that pilots can make mistakes when they are tired that could lead to a chain of events that is catastrophic.
He stated, “We know that all aspects of aviation are very stretched right now and that these people are working at unbelievable levels of strain.”
“If a check-in agent is tired, could this start a chain reaction that would be difficult to stop?” It takes just one person to make an error and not consider the consequences — to someone to not put a screw in or fix a bolt properly.
“We all can relate to [those types of lapses], but in any safety-critical sector, to tell people that they should work harder and suckit up? It’s common sense that this is not smart, especially for a CEO who has been paid a lot to motivate and inspire.
“If you had to go under the knife for a medical procedure, would you feel safe knowing that the person performing it was tired? Even with all the automation, crew still have to make critical safety decisions, especially when there are issues like severe delays or storms.
On social media, the aviation community has expressed horror at the leaked video. One pilot wrote: “This is the most dangerous thing I’ve ever heard an airline CEO tell me.” This speaks to a fundamental lack in understanding fatigue and its effects on flight.
Steven Ehrlich is the chairman of PilotsTogether. This charity supports UK pilots who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. He told CNN that asking pilots to fly when they are tired is dangerous and an inappropriate precedent. It introduces unnecessary risk to pilots, passengers, and the general public.
We encourage car drivers to pull over to the side of a road or to a rest area when they feel fatigued. Safety is the most important thing in life. There is no room to compromise.
“Any airline that plays fast and loose with these rules will lose the trust of their passengers and pilots as well as the public. Fatigue can lead to loss of attention, mistakes can be made and perceptions can be altered.
Pilots are feeling more stressed these days because of Covid redundancies and the need to re-qualify and polish up skills. There are also current operational pressures on airlines.
BALPA pilots union tweeted: “We are shocked that an airline CEO would recommend actions so contrary to basic safety culture.” BALPA asks Mr Varadi quickly to clarify that Wizz Air will fully support any pilot who doesn’t fly if they feel tired, for the safety and well-being of all passengers, crew, and aircraft.
The New Zealand Airline Pilots’ Association highlighted pilot fatigue last week, warning local media: “Fatigue may be as dangerous and harmful as drug and alcohol misuse. It can lead to errors that can have potentially fatal consequences.”
Wizz Air, a budget airline based in Hungary is one of Europe’s fastest-growing. It boasts the continent’s most environmentally friendly fleet.
Main image: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via AP
