The International Civil Aviation Organisation has adopted new standards for fatigue-risk management systems, which will come into effect towards the end of this year.
The organisation, which accepted the standards on 13 June, said they would be "an alternative to prescriptive flight and duty limitations" to handle pilot fatigue.
ICAO Air Navigation Bureau director Nancy Graham said the regulations were a "one-size-fits-all solution", whereas management systems "recognise the growing complexity of crew fatigue".
She said the new standards - to be introduced on 15 December - would ease development, harmonised introduction and regulatory monitoring of fatigue-risk management systems around the world.
Graham stressed that the approach to such systems has "solid" grounding in science, with contribution by recognised specialists as well as airlines and cockpit crews to ensure technical and operational issues were considered.
The new standards allow individual state authorities the option whether to establish regulations for fatigue-management systems.
"Operators using fatigue-management systems have reported greater operational flexibilitywhile maintaining, and even improving on, current safety levels," she said. ICAO is to host a symposium and forum on the subject in Montreal at the end of August.
Source: Flight International
