A passenger jet that took off from Dubai flew for 13 hours and landed at the same airport after it was forced to turn around in midair. Flight EK448 took off at 10.30am local time on Friday and was supposed to land in Auckland, New Zealand, 16 hours later.
Airlines ensure crew safety and well-being on long-haul flights, with two pilots and enough cabin crew to split shifts. Pilot rest requirements have been updated to include 10 hours of rest before a flight and the opportunity for 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
If you're sleeping on a plane, you can't actively work to relax those muscles and release the tension, so you can become susceptible to dizziness, ear infections, eardrum damage, hearing loss and nose bleeds. Wondering about some other health issues flying could cause? Take a look at the dirtiest places in an airport.
If you react well to taking naps, then you should sleep for a few hours. Or if you find it easy to wake up in the middle of the night and function well, then you might want to sleep for a few hours. But if you find it easy to sleep on a plane, then you might want to stay up and sleep once you are in the air.
The simple answer is yes, pilots do, and are allowed to sleep during flight but there are strict rules controlling this practice. Pilots would only normally sleep on long haul flights, although sleep on short haul flights is permitted to avoid the effects of fatigue.
They're not glamorous, but they're very comfortable, with padded bunks and sometimes even in-flight entertainment! With 14- to 18-hour flights no longer unusual, pilots and cabin crew have legally mandated rest times —and airlines also realise that a rested, refreshed crew member is a happy crew member.
For long flights over twelve hours, there are one or two relief pilots onboard so that the two pilots who performed the takeoff can take a break and get some sleep or relax. There are just two pilots on short long-haul flights of eight or nine hours.