Mental Fatigue (II)

Imagine how an average person would fare at his work place if he has not had sufficient sleep to rejuvenate himself after a day’s hard work.

According to Bloomberg News, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is making changes in the airline pilots’ work schedules. These changes will make the pilots work less and rest more between flights. Aiming at improving public safety, after the changes are implemented, the airline pilots must have a 10-hour rest period before they are allowed to taking on their next flying assignment. These amendments are to ensure the professionals in the cockpit of a jetliner have at least eight hours of uninterrupted sleep before taking command of their next flight.

I remember in April this year many air-controllers were found snoozing over their control module. But the sky above us does appear to be friendlier after the government stepped in and amended the air-controllers’ inhumane work schedule. Even though the benefits of such changes are hard to quantify, I am sure the FAA’s changes in pilots’ future working condition will have the same positive effect as what the government had done to the air-controllers’ in the past. - Ayee