Sleepy Alitalia Pilot Delays Flight to Rome

by Amy Coyne Bredeson
Last updated: 12:35 PM ET, Sat July 16, 2016

Passengers were forced to get off a plane early Saturday morning after the pilot said he was "too tired" to fly, the Daily Mail reported.

Flight Alitalia AZ827 was scheduled to leave Beirut for Rome at 4:25 a.m. local time, the newspaper said. The flight was delayed for more than 16 hours.

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"Pilot fatigue is a problem across the aviation industry and BALPA members have told us they believe it is one of the biggest single threats to flight safety," British Airline Pilots' Association Head of Flight Safety Rob Hunter told MailOnline Travel.

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Maltese tenor and cultural ambassador Joseph Calleja, who was aboard the aircraft, posted the following on his Facebook page: "Airline sent the plane late to Beirut and literally, whilst the flight was boarding, the pilot refused departure because of a few minutes delay caused by a change of equipment by same airline. Whilst I don't know the exact workings and regulations this treatment of customers and people's lives is deplorable. Every time I use this airline it ends up in some massive cock up. Never again will I fly Alitalia."

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