Complete 6 pages APA formatted article: Do Pilots Have Enough Layover Time. Pilots are required to take not less than 10 hours of layover time before embarking on another journey, but reality check reveals that this is only in theory. Both airlines and pilots often fail to violate this requirement for several reasons including saving money and the need to reach home faster. Similarly, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) tasked with the responsibility of creating policies that promote safety in the entire aviation industry seem to do little to ensure that parties in the industry comply with all the requirements and policies of aviation operations. Pilots do not have enough layover time because of work overload, and this makes them suffer from jetlag and fatigue. Though airlines fight against enough rest time for pilots because they want to save money, it is necessary for the airlines and government legislation to ensure that pilots have enough rest for safety purposes. Most airlines require pilots to work for long hours leaving them with less time for rest. Pilots are required to fly for only 8 hours a day and then rest for ten hours. However, the airlines have a way of bending this rule to fit their needs (Personal 4). For instance, If a pilot flies for 8 hours, and then had a rest for another 10 hours. The airline will probably make this person fly the return flight, which in that case makes him fly for more than he/she should fly in one day. In turn, this lays a lot of pressure on the pilots and the workload compared to the rest time that they have, and thus, they develop fatigue. Likewise, long-haul airline pilots go through excessive work hours, which make them experience elevated levels of fatigue, also due to circadian misalignment of the wake and sleep periods. Additionally, most airlines give pilots only 1-3 days off between flights as the layover time to recover from the previous journey.
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