BRUSSELS - European aviation has become less safe in recent years due to overworked and exhausted pilots and cabin crew members, Zembla reports based on a study by Sweden’s Karolinska University. Zembla found a culture of fear at several budget airlines where employees don’t dare report illness or fatigue. Transavia denied the findings to the program. 

The researchers surveyed 10,000 pilots and cabin crew members. A third said that European air travel has become less safe. Eighty percent of cabin crew and 66 percent of pilots said working conditions have deteriorated. Many cited an increase in atypical contracts, like false self-employment and zero-hour contracts, as the reason behind the worsening working conditions. These contracts weakened employees’ legal position, making them less likely to report being “unfit to fly.” 

Zembla spoke to multiple pilots at budget airlines and found a culture of fear preventing them from blowing the whistle. Pilots even told the program about falling asleep during flights. “I suddenly noticed that my eyes were closed. When I opened them, I saw my colleague also had his eyes closed,” a pilot told the program. 

Transavia denied that its employees were afraid to report being too sick or tired to fly. “Reporting fatigue, unfitness, and safety issues are explicitly encouraged,” the KLM budget subsidiary said. Transavia also said that most of its employees have permanent employment contracts. 

EasyJet would not respond substantively, saying the problems don’t affect them. RyanAir and Wizz Air did not respond.