Ex-Pilot: Emirates Airline’s First Officers ‘Bullied Into Not Calling Sick’

The first officers of the Dubai-based Emirates Airline, one of the largest carriers in the world, are pressured not to call in sick or take a sick leave due to illness or exhaustion as they risk losing the opportunity for a promotion, a former Emirates’ pilot told RT in an interview published Saturday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – First officers "are bullied into not calling sick or they risk losing" the opportunity to be promoted to captains, the ex-pilot told RT.

His own command upgrade was delayed because, according to his management, he called in sick too often.

"We expect you to fly your roster… if it is too difficult to you, resign," the former pilot recalled the company's response.

The former Emirates pilot described the rosters as "brutal," with pilots expected to "switch from day to night… duties without enough rest in between." The work with the Emirates Airline is like an "abusive relationship" which gives status and money but would eventually "end badly… with either death or sickness," he told RT.

Following a crash of Flydubai Boeing 737-800 at Russia’s Rostov-on-Don airport on March 19, a former pilot of the low-cost Dubai-based airline, who wished to remain anonymous, told RT that Flydubai forced pilots who complained about overloaded schedules and fatigue to quit.

Several Emirates’ pilots have joined their colleagues from Flydubai complaining about overwork and fatigue in an interview with RT.