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The Citizen reports that FlySafair may have to cancel flights next week as pilots operating the carrier’s reduced schedule may run out of legally admissible flying time.
“Before now, nobody expected the strike to continue through the week. Now after management’s overreaction to an initial one-day strike for Monday passed. Management scored an own goal and responded by locking us out for 7 days instead. Then the strike was extended to 14 days in response to that, until 3 August. So by Monday, 29 July, many of the crew operating flights could be close to reaching their flying limit. That means, the planes get parked,” the pilots said. They added: “We’re bound by flight and duty time regulations designed to prevent fatigue. They’re not optional. If we exceed them, we’re grounded. Full stop.” Under SA regulations, pilots may only fly 40 hours in any seven consecutive days and cannot exceed 60 hours of duty in the same period. Monthly caps limit flight time to 100 hours in 30 days and duty time to 190 hours in 28 days. Annual limits are also in place. The rules also require rest that includes a full “local night”, defined as eight hours between 10pm and 8am, for safety and fatigue reasons. Despite several attempts to gain clarity on the risks, Fly Safair’s media office and marketing manager Kirby Gordon did not respond to queries and subsequent reminders to revert to The Citizen.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Hein Kaiser at The Citizen
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