RTÉ documentary on pilot fatigue a sham, says Ryanair

RYANAIR has described last night’s RTÉ documentary on alleged pilot fatigue in the budget airline as a baseless unbalanced sham.

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) meanwhile said routine and random checks on all airlines, including low-cost ones, had produced no cause for concern in the past year.

The IAA said while it had a policy not to take part in pre-recorded interviews, offers of a live contribution or participation in a panel discussion were rejected by RTÉ.

The makers of the documentary were happy “that high standards of accuracy and fairness apply to the item on pilot fatigue,” a spokesperson said.

“Prime Time have failed to provide any evidence whatsoever of pilot fatigue either in the airline industry generally, or in Ryanair specifically. Moreover, we also understand that Prime Time has refused to allow the IAA (Irish Aviation Authority), the relevant legal authority and independent regulator of all Irish airlines, to participate in tonight’s live discussion,” the Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said last night.

“RTÉ’s Prime Time programme this evening is nothing but an unbalanced sham,” he added.

Ryanair said it operated among the best pilot rosters of any scheduled airline in Europe.

Fatigue eliminating features included rosters which are produced monthly in advance, providing certainty and reliability and Ryanair pilots, by law, cannot fly more than 900 hours per year (compared to 1,000 hours in the US), which works out at an average of 18 hours per week.

“Prime Time always gives affected parties a fair opportunity to put their side of the story but it is not always possible to accommodate everyone live in studio,” RTÉ stated.

Capt Evan Cullen, Irish Airline Pilots’ Association, said fatigue was a problem among Ryanair pilots but they “were afraid to come forward”.

“Independent experts confirm that Ryanair’s rosters go well beyond best industry practice in eliminating the likely causes of fatigue,” Mr O’Leary said.