.Says Pilots experiencing ‘elevated fatigue levels’
.’Fatigue impairs cognitive function and erodes situational awareness, a pilot or an engineer’s most essential tool’
By Yahaya Umar
Lingering Jet A1 also know as aviation fuel, crisis has entered a dangerous phase as the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, NAAPE, raised concern over what it described as elevated fatigue levels of its members amid the increased cost of Jet A1 in Nigeria.
AljazirahNigeria reports that National President of NAAPE, Capt. Bunmi Gindeh, raised the concern in a statement yesterday in Lagos, saying the persistent Jet A1 crisis had become a threat to flight safety.
Gindeh said that the fuel crisis was stretching crew duty times, elevating fatigue levels, and distracting a workforce struggling with delayed salaries.
According to him, NAAPE’s primary concern centres on the physical and mental well-being of its members.
He said that as flights were being delayed and schedules disrupted, pilots and engineers were frequently forced to extend their duty times beyond planned parameters.
“This translates directly into elevated fatigue levels. Fatigue impairs cognitive function and erodes situational awareness, a pilot or an engineer’s most essential tool.
“The safety of every passenger is placed at measurable risk when crew members are compelled to operate under these conditions”, he said.
Gindeh added that the economic strain of the fuel crisis on airlines was affecting pilots and engineers in the form of wage reductions and delayed payments.
“A workforce operating under financial stress is a distracted workforce”, he added.
Gindeh expressed worry at Rano Air’s recent decision to reduce operational routes.
He urged immediate interventions in the Jet A1 crisis to avoid more route suspensions, carrier shutdowns, job losses and consequences on trade, tourism and national connectivity.
He called on the Federal Government, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, to take action to address the situation.
“We hereby call on the Federal Government, NCAA, NMDPRA, fuel suppliers and all relevant stakeholders to treat the resolution of this Jet A1 supply crisis as a matter of urgent national priority.
“Aviation safety is non-negotiable”, Gindeh said.
It would be recalled that aviation fuel price increased from about N900 per litre in February to N3,300 per litre in April, leading to flight disruptions.
Responding the Federal Government announced plans to waive debts owed by domestic airlines to aviation agencies with a view to cushionung the impact of the lingering Jet aviation fuel crisis.
In this vein, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, had said that a high-level meeting was conveyed in Abuja to address the astronomical rise in the cost of Jet A1 fuel.
According to Keyamo “I had the privilege of meeting Mr President to brief him about the meeting, and Mr President mandated us to quickly bring a request to him. And the first request that he will consider and grant is a generous discount on the debts the airlines are owing the aviation agencies, NAMA, FAAN, NCAA, and so on and so forth”.
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