ICAO to address growing issue of fatigue amongst safety-critical aviation personnel

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a specialised agency of the United Nations, on Tuesday said that a gathering of over 500 representatives from the government, air transport industry and scientific community will meet to address the issue of fatigue among safety-critical aviation personnel.

At the meeting at ICAO representatives will discuss Fatigue Risk Management Systems (FRMS) as an alternative to the current practise of "flight and duty time limitations" for pilots and cabin crew. Earlier in August ICAO, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Air Line Pilots' Association (IFALPA) released an FRMS Implementation Guide for commercial airline operators, which was in line with similar guidance for regulators. In June 2011 the Council of ICAO adopted international standards for FRMS to ensure consistent implementation by airline operators and oversight by regulators. Pilot fatigue has increasingly been cited as a contributing factor in aircraft accidents, the ICAO said.