One in five British pilots admits to falling asleep while on duty

But European authorities do not think the proposed changes will lead to a reduction in safety.

A British study has found that one in five pilots have admitted to falling asleep while on duty in the cockpit.

According to the Daily Mail,the study commissioned by the British pilots” union Balpa uncovered a culture of chronic fatigue in the airline industry,reports News.com.au.

For the study,492 pilots from budget carrier EasyJet were surveyed,with 50 per cent claiming they suffer from significant fatigue.

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One in five elected that they felt fatigued “at least once a week” in a way that compromises their ability to fly.

Balpa is worried that the situation will get worse if a new European proposal,where pilots will be required to fly an extra 100 hours each year,jumping from 900 hours currently to 1000 is passed.

But European authorities do not think the proposed changes will lead to a reduction in safety.

EasyJet have said that they “do not recognise the unions findings” and insisted that they “comply fully with all safety regulations,” the paper added.