The Buckingham

The new rules for airline pilots were recently enacted, which state that no airline pilot may fly on less than eight full hours of sleep.  Now the United Parcel Service’s (UPS) union demands to be included among the pilots this rule applies to.  The Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, has declined their request.

Now, UPS is taking their case to court, but not seeing a change of mind.  The FAA claims including cargo carriers in the rule would cost too much, adding an extra $214 million.  The high cost for them does not compare to the safety benefits of including cargo carriers among the pilots affected by the new rule.

One of the issues of including cargo carriers is the fact that these pilots do more overnight flying than airline pilots.  They also cross time zones more often, and such elements have influenced the FAA’s decision in excluding them from the new rule.

At least the new rule for airline pilots has finally satisfied the safety advocates who have long urged for careful attention to pilots’ scheduling.  Research shows that fatigue is just as equally dangerous to a pilot’s reflexes and judgment as alcohol is.  The new rules limit a pilot’s flight time to between nine and fourteen hours.