Fatigue reporting: what it is, why crew do not do it, what happened when I did, and why you should
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#1 Lufthansa, and the fatigue management system exists at every European carrier under EASA rules and at the US carriers under their own, and almost no junior crew use it, and I want to explain why they should, because I did and nothing bad happened.
What it is
A formal process to declare that you are too fatigued to operate safely, before a duty, without it being a disciplinary matter. Under EASA the airline must have a fatigue risk management system, crew have a legal right and duty to report, and a fatigue report is not a sick day and is not a performance issue. It is a safety report.
Why crew do not do it
Fear. The belief that it goes on the file. The belief that the base manager will remember. The crew room story about someone who reported and was 'spoken to'. The feeling that everyone is tired and you are not special. And the roster: a fatigue call means a colleague on standby is called and you feel guilty.
What happened when I did
A month with a disrupted long haul pattern, a delay that had pushed a rest period to the legal minimum, a night of two hours' sleep, and a Chicago in the morning. I called the fatigue line at 05:00, said I was not fit, answered the questions (sleep in the last 24 and 48 hours, the duties, the rest), and was stood down. A standby colleague went. I slept. I flew the next day.
The follow up: a form, a conversation with the fatigue safety officer (not the base manager), and a note that the pattern in question was being looked at. Nothing on my file. No conversation with management. Three years later, no consequence of any kind, and the pattern was changed.
Why you should
Because the alternative is operating a flight tired, and a tired crew member at a door is the safety issue that the whole system exists to prevent. Because the reports are the data that changes rosters, and a roster that is never reported is never changed. Because the fear is mostly a crew room story and the reality, at every carrier I know, is a safety officer who wants the report. And because the one time it matters, you will be glad you knew the process.
How
Know the fatigue line number now. Know the questions they ask (sleep, duties, rest). Report honestly, early, before the sign on. And afterwards, tell your colleagues it was fine, because the crew room story needs replacing.
Ask anything. The fatigue report is the least used safety tool in aviation.
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#2 Virgin, fourteen years, three fatigue reports, all handled exactly as Hannah describes: the safety officer, the form, nothing on the file, and a pattern looked at. The crew room story is out of date at every carrier I know. Replace it.
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#3 easyJet, one report, year three, a standby block that had become a five day pattern of 04:00 calls. Stood down. A conversation with the safety team. The block was changed for the base. The report is the data. Hannah is right.
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#4 Delta, and the US system is a fatigue call to crew scheduling with a similar protection, and the same fear, and the same reality: it is a safety report and it is treated as one. Reserve crew are the ones who need it most and use it least.
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#6 Loganair, and the small airline version is that the fatigue officer is someone you know, which makes it harder and easier: harder to call, easier to trust. I called once. It was fine. Tell everyone.
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#7 Three weeks in, and the fatigue line number was on one slide and I had not saved it. Saved now. The crew room story about being 'spoken to' had already reached me. This thread replaces it.