Southwest and Delta pilots warn that ‘number one risk’ to plane safety is on the rise

SOUTHWEST and Delta pilots are warning that the number one risk to plane safety is on the rise.

The issue has repeatedly been reported to the federal Aviation Safety Reporting System.

“Fatigue, both acute and cumulative, has become Southwest Airlines’ number-one safety threat,” the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association wrote in a letter to airline executives this week.

Cancellations and delays due to severe weather are cited as contributing factors to fatigue, according to pilots.

Demand is also an issue, with many airlines still rebounding from Covid and millions more people traveling.

New data from the Transportation Security Administration shows passenger numbers sitting around 90 percent of 2019 levels.

However, US airlines don't have the same number of employees they did back then.

In fact, they have about 3,000 fewer employees, according to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Many pilots retired or aged out at 65 during the pandemic.

On top of that, the Regional Airline Association says another 2,000 pilots will hit the mandatory retirement age in 2022.

Southwest has said hiring more employees is a priority this year.

The company plans to hire around 8,000 new staffers, with 40 percent being flight crews, CNN said.

SWAPA says the number of pilots unable to work due to fatigue spiked significantly last fall, and another increase occurred just last month

“April is already setting fatigue records,” SWAPA wrote in the letter to executives.

Meanwhile, Delta pilots have been staging demonstrations at airports across the country this month to call attention to their concerns.

Last month, the Air Line Pilots Association sent a message to Delta members, writing that there were “several opportunities for Delta to re-set its broken pilot staffing issue" during the pandemic.

The ALPA also noted that coverage for pilots experiencing fatigue due to weather changes or illness is harder to come by.

“Delta Flight Operations continues to run the operation at red line,” the letter states.

“So, if it feels like you are working more and seeing less control over your schedule – you are right; you are.”

There are federal rules and regulations around work hours and rest periods for pilots.

Most major airlines have a limit of 30 hours of flying time, with a minimum of nine hours of rest between flights.

Pilots from all airlines filed 60 reports of incidents or mistakes attributed to fatigue, according to CNN.

Incidents are reported anonymously and reports are shared to a federal website.