Pilots are not involved in a typical 9 to 5 job, but it is more than that. They not only have to fly the plane and take it to the assigned location, but before and after the flight, there is a huge burden of responsibilities such as assessment of weather, pre-flight checks, filling after flight reports, and making sure the flight was operated by following the highest safety standards.
These are a few duties, but in actuality, they need to perform a lot of time taking tasks.
So, How Many Days Do Pilots Work?
Normally, a pilot spends at least 13 to 14 hours on duty, including flight time and many pre and post-flight tasks. If we talk about the average working days of pilots a month, these are around 12 to 15 days; you may be wondering what, only 15 a month, but wait, pilot working hours are not that simple.
Don’t be curious; to know the reality, you must dig out the complete information about the pilot’s life and job in this article.
So, let’s begin! 
How Many Days Do Pilots Work?
But don’t get anxious or excited; a pilot’s job is not a piece of cake; these 15 days are equal to one month considering the time between flights and commuting to the airport. Often, unknowingly the higher authorities can add 5 to 7 additional working days to pilots’ schedules.
Pilots can be far from home for two to more weeks if they have two flights in a row, whether domestic or international. Due to the consecutive flights, sometimes they don’t get enough time to go home and return to work on time.
The schedule can be tougher on the holidays such as Easter or Christmas, known as the busiest days of the year; after all, everyone wants to spend time with family.
What Are the Rules In Europe And The USA?
The rules regarding pilots’ working days across the US and Europe are quite alike. Their pilot can work 30 hours weekly and 100 hours in 30 days. The maximum hour’s pilots should work in a day is approximately 13 hours.
The time limit can exceed due to harsh weather conditions, little fault in the place, some long flights, etc., but 16 hours is the limit. This one-day limit is as per the FAA’s regulations for pilots.
It is for pilots’ safety because the cabin crew and many passengers’ lives depend on them, so flying a plane is risky if they are tired and restless. In comparison, 30 hours a week is less than 40 hours of work in a week in any other office job. But remember, the pilot job is very demanding, where 30 hours are equal to 40-hour work.
Factors Which Determines The Pilot Working Hours?
Pilots’ job is tough; hence Federal regulations set certain rules for them to keep them fresh for the next flight. These regulations limit the working hours for a pilot and rest hours between flights.
The working and rest hours will determine how many hours one pilot can spend between pre and post-flight tasks. Moreover, the seniority and long and short-haul flights determine pilots’ working hours.
Seniority Determine How Much to Work:
All pilots of the airlines are assigned a seniority number which is based on the date when pilots get hired by the airline. The higher the pilot’s number, the more perks they can enjoy, such as selection of flight schedule, destinations, based location, type of aircraft, and many more advantages.
FAA Limitations:
As per FAA guidelines, pilots’ flight times are limited for back-to-back flights. Optimum rest time is also needed between flights, especially for long flights.
Long and Short-Haul Flights:
Short haul flights consist of 30 minutes but can also be 3 hours. On the other hand, a mid-haul flight consists of 3 to 6 hours, and a 4 to 12 hours flight is considered a long-haul flight. The ultra-long flights will be more than 12 hours, mostly from one continent to another.
The flight time limitations will affect the length of the flights. For example, pilots flying long-haul flights work longer-hour shifts, but they can also get longer rest days than those pilots flying short-haul flights.
Work vs. Flying Hours:
Although there is a limitation on working hours per week for pilots, they still need to perform many other duties on the ground, including maintenance, assessing weather, flight plans, post-flight checks, filling flight reports, plane inspection before the flight, and more.
Therefore, we can say that not all the duty hours are spent on the flight, but they have to do many ground tasks too.
Do Pilots Work Daily?
A pilot job is considered one of the toughest jobs in the world, and the duty hours are not 9 to 5 like other normal routine jobs. After reaching the destination, pilots mostly rest and are ready to catch up on the next flight, and the chances are higher that they will stay far from home because it is impossible to fly over their hometown every time.
Their flight schedule is not always the same every month; sometimes, they will be far from home for two back-to-back weeks. The weekly work depends on the particular airline and the duration of the flights.
After taking ultra-long flights, it isn’t possible to take the next day or the same day flight again; that is why airlines set the schedule as per the duty hours and flight length. But it is not a standard schedule; most of the time, uncertain flight delays increase the duty hours.
Remember that pilots only get paid for the duty hours, not the time they spend at the airport waiting for delayed flights.
Every airline follows its set schedules, so we cannot give an exact figure about how many days they work in a week or month. It is also necessary to remember that airlines can change their vacation schedules because people travel more often within and across the globe during holidays as those are the busiest days for airlines and pilots too.
How Many Hours do Pilots Fly Daily, Monthly, and Yearly?
Pilots and airlines need to follow the rules set by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), and based on the regulations, the airlines set their daily, weekly, and monthly schedules.
How Many Hours Can Pilots Fly Daily?
An airline pilot can fly for at least 8 hours a day, and the duration can be increased to ten hours if the co-pilot is present on the flight. After long flights, they need to rest for 16 hours maximum.
What About the Monthly Schedule?
A pilot can fly at least 75 hours in 30 days, but happily, they are allowed 100 hours of flying in a month.
Yearly Flying Hours:
On average, pilots for any airline can fly for 700 hours in 12 months, and the flight hours must not be more than 1000 hours in a year.
Our Summary:
This information will help one to start a career as a renowned airline pilot. So please read this article and learn about their working days and other rules and guidelines for pilots.
So, take a deep look into the above-mentioned text, rest before flights, and stay safe!
