Virgin Australia is rostering pilots ‘closer to the limit’ of fatigue, watchdog tells Senate estimates

The aviation safety regulator believes Virgin Australia is rostering pilots “closer to the limits” of anti-fatigue standards, amid fears some are working 12-hour days back-to-back but are hesitant to report feeling tired out of fear of losing shifts. Civil Aviation Safety Authority (Casa) officials’ comments at Senate estimates on Wednesday evening followed revelations in the Guardian that pilots had repeatedly raised concerns over Virgin’s rostering system adding to fatigue levels. As Virgin Australia and the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) remain in a standoff over a proposal to strip pilots of six days’ annual leave during negotiations for a new enterprise agreement, email chains between pilots and management as well as pilot-only discussion groups raised frustration at what they allege was management’s failures to recognise the fatigue issue. The correspondence seen by Guardian Australia revealed anger at outdated roster software which they claim has not been replaced despite a promise to do so by the owners of the airline, private equity firm Bain Capital. In addition, there is an alleged reliance on routinely scheduling pilots to work maximum shift lengths – 12 hours and longer in the event of delays – on back-to-back days, while allowing for just the legal minimum rest period of 12 hours. Matthew Bouttell, the executive manager of Casa’s regulatory oversight division, responded to questions from Labor senator Tony Sheldon about the pilots’ concerns, as well as the results of a TWU survey of 180 pilots – of the roughly 1,000 who work at Virgin – which showed that 85% said the rostering system had affected how they manage their fatigue.<br/>