Story perspectives

18 Canadian Airlines Ask Transport Canada to Raise Duty Limits

By Drooid · Oct 29, 2026 · How we work

Same facts. Different interpretations.

How coverage differs

Left

Eighteen Canadian airlines have asked Transport Canada to raise duty limits from 13 to 14 hours and weekly from 60 to 70 hours.
European pilots say fatigue and fear of punishment erode safety, with 11.9% trusting airline reporting, prompting calls for non-punitive oversight.
Three quarters of European captains and first officers reported a microsleep in the past month.
Twenty-four percent usually keep flying when fatigued rather than report themselves unfit.

Right

18 Canadian airlines asked Transport Canada to raise duty limits to 14 hours per day and 70 hours per week.
The report stresses that pilots must personally decide whether they are rested enough to fly.
Cockpit Association survey of 7,200 pilots found 76.8% had at least one microsleep in the past four weeks.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency will urge airlines to improve fatigue reporting and safety culture.

Blindspot

European pilots say fear of punishment and management reprisals discourage fatigue reporting, undermining safety, with only 11.9 % trusting their airline’s reporting system, according to the European Cockpit Association survey.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Left-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Right-leaning coverage.

History

In July 2008 the EU introduced Subpart Q of EU-OPS, limiting pilots to 13 hours daily and 60 weekly. The European Cockpit Association and EASA applied the rule to carriers including Air Canada and WestJet, covering roughly 1.2 million flight hours annually. That framework now supports Canadian airlines’ request to Transport Canada to raise limits to 14 hours daily and 70 weekly, prompting ICAO-style monitoring.

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Pilot Fatigue Crisis

Eighteen Canadian airlines have asked Transport Canada to raise duty limits from 13 to 14 hours and weekly from 60 to 70 hours.
European pilots say fatigue and fear of punishment erode safety, with 11.9% trusting airline reporting, prompting calls for non-punitive oversight.
Three quarters of European captains and first officers reported a microsleep in the past month.
Twenty-four percent usually keep flying when fatigued rather than report themselves unfit.

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