A German pilots' union has said that napping during flights has become a "worrying reality" for its members, as a new survey found that the vast majority of pilots admitted to sleeping in the cockpit.
The Vereinigung Cockpit union surveyed more than 900 pilots and reported that 93% had napped during a flight within the past few months. Of these, 12% said they napped on every flight, 44% regularly, 33% occasionally, 3% as a one-off, and 7% could no longer count how often they had done so.
Katharina Dieseldorff, vice-president of the union, which represents 10,000 pilots, cockpit workers and trainees, said napping had long become the norm in German cockpits. "What was originally intended as a short-term recovery measure has turned into a permanent answer to structural pressure," she said.
Dieseldorff warned that while a short nap was not critical in itself, a permanently exhausted cockpit crew was a significant risk. She said staff shortages and rising operational pressure had worsened the situation for pilots, particularly during the summer months.
The union defined napping as "controlled rest phases during the flight phase" and cautioned that the survey was not representative.
