Amid growing air traffic in India, pilots experience increased fatigue

Amid the country's growing air traffic and expanding aircraft fleet, fatigue among pilots seems to be a dark cloud with senior captains and pilots' groupings stressing on the need for more serious efforts to address the concerns.

While regulations on flight duty time limitations and specific rest periods are in place, a more scientific approach as well as a better fatigue reporting system will help in tackling the "silent danger of fatigue", according to the senior captains.

In signs that fatigue is a worrying factor for the fast growing Indian aviation space, a recent survey of 542 pilots by NGO Safety Matters Foundation showed that majority of them admitted to falling asleep without planning/ consent of the other crew or experienced micro sleep.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) -- a global grouping of airlines, including from India -- said fatigue has long been identified as a potential safety risk and the industry has developed extensive Standards and Recommende