Summary Qantas' Project Sunrise will introduce the longest flights in the world, flying from Australia to Europe and the US. Regulations need adjustments to handle pilot duty times on flights lasting 20+ hours. Qantas trials for Project Sunrise indicate cooperation with CASA to manage pilot fatigue during extended flights.
In 2017, the Australian flag carrier Qantas announced a groundbreaking plan to fly from the East Coast of Australia to Europe and New York. Referred to as "Project Sunrise ," the flights from Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York will take 20+ hours, and when they come into operation, they will become the longest in the world. Nearly 16 or 17-hour flights are fairly common and generally made possible with long-range and ultra-long-range aircraft, including the Boeing 777-200LR and Airbus A350ULR.
However, operating flights that last almost the entire day comes with its challenges. One such challenge is managing pilot duty times during flights. Current regulations allow only 18 hours of maximum duty for long-haul operations.
The project sunrise will require changing current Flight Duty Period (FDP) regulations. This article explores current flight duty regulations and typical schedules to understand how they can be adapted to future ultra-long-haul operations. A look at Flight Duty Period (FDP) Pilot fatigue has long been a concern in aviation.
In 1993, American International Airways flight 808 crashed while approaching Leeward Point Field in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Later investigations found that the crash was caused by excessive pilot fatigue, which impaired their proper judgment. This was the first time in aviation history that the reason for the crash was primarily cited as “pilot fatigue.
” This forced the FAA to review the regulations regarding the flight duty period. Since then, the FDP has evolved and become more restrictive than in the 90s. Modern FDP requirements are based on the latest scientific research and change depending on new findings.
Before we go any further, let us look at the definition of the Flight Duty Period. According to EASA Air Ops, part ORO.FTL.
105: "Flight Duty Period (FDP) means a period that commences when a crew member is required to report for duty, which includes a sector or a series of sectors, and finishes when the aircraft finally comes to rest, and the engines are shut down, at the end of the last sector on which the crew member acts as an operating crew member." Crew scheduling has a variety of ways to get in contact with pilots, and will be in touch for many different reasons. When does FDP start? Contrary to popular belief, FDP does not start when the pilots start their aircraft and get going.
It starts at the point when an airline wants its crew to report for a flight and ends when the aircraft engines are shut down. In most airlines, pilots are supposed to report for a flight about one hour and 15 minutes to one hour and 30 minutes before a flight. This is the time when the FDP starts.
Allocation of work patterns: Avoid undesirable practices, such as day and night schedules, time zone transitions, and crew member positioning. Rest periods: Schedule sufficient resting periods between duty times, particularly after long flights through several time zones. Advanced planning: Prepare duty rosters in advance to ensure extended recovery and notification periods for crew members.
Regulators such as EASA set the FDP based on the time the flight crew reports for duty and the sectors to be flown. The latest EASA FDP table is shown below. As the table shows, as the number of sectors increases for a given period, the FDP reduces.
This is because more takeoffs and landings increase the pilot fatigue levels. You can also see that as the day goes along, there is a constant reduction in FDP, regardless of the sectors flown, and it dips to the lowest when the pilots report for duty between 17:00-04:59 hours. This is because this period falls into what is called the Window of Circadian Low (WOCL).
A successful flight is a team effort, requiring good communication before and during the flight. Window of Circadian Low (WOCL) The WOCL is the time period during which an average human being feels sleepiest during a physiological night. It is between 02:00 and 05:59 hours.
After an FDP, the flight crew must be provided an uninterrupted rest of 12 hours. If the FDP was extended for any reason, the rest should be equal to the preceding FDP. For example, if the FDP increased to 13:30 minutes due to unforeseen circumstances or a planned extension, the post-flight rest must be increased to 13:30 minutes.
The airline can increase the FDP by one hour, not more than twice in 7 consecutive days. In this case, however, the flight crew must be provided more rest before the start of the next FDP. One other way to increase FDP is by having extra pilots.
This is called flight crew augmentation or augmented operations. For this reason, most airlines that do long-haul flights have an augmented flight crew . This is also how Qantas will plan their Project Sunrise flights.
A look at a few of the apps pilots use on a daily basis. Flight crew augmentation Most commercial airliners are certified to fly with a minimum of two pilots. When flown with two pilots, the normal FDP applies to both pilots.
However, when there are more than two pilots in a flight, the FDP can be extended, providing each pilot with proper in-flight rest. Certain minimum standards need to be met for in-flight rest. The rest facilities in the aircraft are categorized into three classes.
According to EASA regulations, they are: Class 1 rest facility: means a bunk or other surface that allows for a flat or near-flat sleeping position. It reclines to at least 80° back angle to the vertical. It is located separately from the flight crew compartment and the passenger cabin in an area that allows the crew member to control light and provides isolation from noise and disturbance.
Class 2 rest facility: means a seat in an aircraft cabin that reclines at least 45° back angle to the vertical, has at least a pitch of 55 inches (137,5 cm), a seat width of at least 20 inches (50 cm) and provides leg and foot support. It is separated from passengers by at least a curtain to provide darkness and some sound mitigation and is reasonably free from disturbance by passengers or crew members. Class 3 rest facility: means a seat in an aircraft cabin or flight crew compartment that reclines at least 40° from the vertical, provides leg and foot support and is separated from passengers by at least a curtain to provide darkness and some sound mitigation, and is not adjacent to any seat occupied by passengers.
The FDP increment is based on the class of the facility and the number of pilots the airline utilizes for a flight. Qantas uses class 1 facilities in its aircraft, so it can use the maximum regulatory FDP. Tying with historically Black universities, and a staunch dedication to increasing diversity has been at the forefront of various airlines' plans.
Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) FDP requirements The CASA requirements regarding FDP are similar to those of EASA and the FAA. When one additional pilot is onboard a flight with a class 1 rest facility, the FDP can be increased to 16 hours, 4 hours more than the standard 12-hour FDP. When two extra pilots are utilized with the same rest facilities, the FDP can be hiked up to 18 hours.
When the flight crew is augmented to increase FDP, the FDP must be limited to 3 sectors, and each pilot must be provided a continuous 90-minute rest period. For the pilots in control of the aircraft during landing, the rest period should be increased to 2 hours or 120 minutes. Fatigue management regulations ( Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority ) Establishment of Fatigue Risk Management System Open communication between flight crew and operators Drug and alcohol management Human factors and safety behaviors Safety advice and training Safety management systems Compliance at all levels of operations With the first Project Sunrise flights delayed until 2026 details have emerged of the new Panasonic IFE systems to be fitted on the Airbus A350-1000s.
The 'Project Sunrise' ultra-long-haul flights According to the latest CASA regulations, the maximum FDP can be 18 hours, even with in-flight rest with an augmented crew. So, how is Qantas planning to make 20-plus hour flights? In late 2019, Qantas conducted three proving or trial flights in a Boeing 787. This allowed them to collect data that was provided to CASA.
CASA has no issues with Qantas conducting these flights because they have already approved Qantas' Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS). Even now, Qantas flies from Perth to London, which takes 19 hours and 50 minutes under an exemption from CASA. So, as long as Qantas can provide CASA with proper mitigations for the fatigue issues pilots may face during the long flight, they can quickly jump the regulatory barrier.
However, we can expect CASA to closely monitor Qantas' flights and the FRMS program even after Project Sunrise becomes a reality. One of the main discussion points regarding this project is how many pilots will fly this route. During the trial flights, Qantas used four pilots: one captain, one first officer, and two Second Officers.
However, one of the second officers may be replaced with a first officer to add more experience to the flight deck. There is also a chance of conducting the flight with five pilots. As there is still a long way to go before the first commercial project's sunrise flight, a lot may change.
Qantas is planning to set a new record for the world's longest regularly scheduled flight with Project Sunrise. Project Sunrise will see the airline connecting London to Sydney with non-stop flights using specially modified Airbus A350s. These flights will take up to 20 hours.
But do you think we will ever see longer flights in the future?.
