Qatar Airways pilots claim the state-owned airline is undercounting their work hours and ignoring fatigue complaints, a safety breach that jeopardizes staff health and puts passengers’ lives in jeopardy.
As Qatar Airways (QA) strives to reduce crew downtime, the evidence reveals how labor mistreatment spreads even to the Gulf nation’s high-skill industries.
The news comes only months before Qatar hosts its inaugural World Cup, with QA seeking to be the sport’s preferred carrier as the major sponsor.
Pilots, on the other hand, are concerned about the hazards fans may face, claiming that ultra-long flights are now conducted by understaffed and weary crews, a situation exacerbated by the epidemic.
Many people did not even file fatigue complaints, fearing further scrutiny from an airline that had already laid off thousands of people due to the pandemic.
Others said that their reports were ignored or that they were not given enough rest for the time they worked.
“You can’t do anything. Your body is just screaming for rest. You feel the pain inside of your chest, and you’re unable to keep your eyes open,” the first officer told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, using a pseudonym so he could speak more freely.
