EasyJet Flight Delayed for Hours After Pilot Too Tired to Fly

The carrier defended its decision to delay the flight from MAN to AMS, saying that safety is its highest priority.

An EasyJet flight from England’s Manchester Airport (MAN) to Amsterdam Airport Schipol (AMS) was delayed for almost four hours late last Friday after passengers were told that the plane’s pilot was “too tired” to fly, reports the Mirror. It has also been revealed that those traveling with EasyJet Flight 1835 were only told of the delay a mere 20 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time of 6:55 p.m.

One traveler, passenger Ruth Cornish, complained about the delay to the carrier via its Facebook page. “The least you could do is make sure your pilots weren’t too tired before they took 200 plus people’s lives into their hands […] I’m not sure what your pilot was up to last night but he’s not the only one who is tired,” she wrote, as quoted by the paper.

The carrier was quick to defend its decision to delay EZY1835. Responding to Cornish’s complaint, it said, “We take safety very seriously and if the captain is unable to fly then we will not let the aircraft take off.”

Unswayed, Cornish continued by saying, “I completely understand that but I think the pilot’s welfare should’ve been assessed a lot sooner than it was […] And perhaps another pilot should be on hand to fly if this happens.”

In a fuller response, the carrier added, “Ruth, I wish it were as simple as making sure our pilots aren’t tired. There could have been many reasons behind the pilot being too tired, which airport ground crew wouldn’t go into detail about, and there would have been a lot of maneuvers going on behind the scenes as we tried to find an alternative pilot at short notice.”

Commenting on the incident, a spokesperson for the carrier said, “EasyJet can confirm that EasyJet flight EZY1835 from Manchester to Amsterdam on Friday 22 September 2017 was delayed to as the pilot was unable to operate due to reporting fatigue. An alternative crew operated the flight. Safety is our highest priority and so if a pilot reports fatigue we stand them down from duty.”

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