Fatigue risk assessment for flight crews flying across time zones in different directions to the east or west during the COVID-19 pandemic in China.

Background: There is a lack of data support and scientific validation of the Exemption Approach policy for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of protecting the health of flight crews and meeting the requirements for passenger and cargo transportation in emergencies, in terms of its safety and the circumstances that contribute to pilots' symptoms of jet lag and the risk of fatigue.

Methods: To assess pilots' sleep issues related to jet lag symptoms and fatigue, this study evaluated an example of risk management for flight crews on flights across time zones during the COVID-19 pandemic. To evaluate the crew's sleep status, variations in sleep index changes between before and after the flights, variations in sleepiness levels, and data on sleep indexes recorded by ActiGraph bracelets were collected from 146 crew members before and after flights eastward or westward across time zones.

Pilot fatigue survey: A study of the mutual influence among fatigue factors in the "work" dimension.

Background: Fatigue risk management for pilots has received increasing attention. The existing fatigue management systems have detailed descriptions of the factors and the mutual influences among the factors that affect the dimension of "sleep", which is one of the most important causes of fatigue. However, the analysis of the influencing factors of the "work" dimension of fatigue causes has not been very detailed or accurate, especially the exploration of the mutual influence among many fatigue-influencing factors in the "work" dimension.