Introduction Pilots have been deemed as safety-sensitive personnel, and they face work patterns of long working hours and jet lag. Failure to properly recover from fatigue may cause adverse health effects, affecting flying public flying safety.

Objectives This study explores the distribution of national civil aviation pilots’ work stress and its association with health impacts.

Methods In cooperation with the Taoyuan Union of Pilot, we had issued structured online questionnaires to member pilots as part of the survey. The questionnaire records the respondent’s seniority, flight time, and flight characteristics. We assessed workplace psychosocial hazards with the Chinese version of the Job Content Questionnaire (C-JCQ). Mental health conditions were measured with the Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5), sleep status with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and burnout with the Chinese version of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (C-CBI). Fatigue symptoms on duty were also recorded. The correlation between workplace psychosocial hazards and health effects were analyzed by the regression model.

Results 160 pilots had filled out the questionnaire, with an average age of 40, ten years of work experience, and an average flight time of 753.3 hours per year. The standardized scores for work demand and work control were 57.8 and 54.7, respectively, higher than the national norm. 28.76% of pilots had emotional distress. Daytime sleepiness was observed among 23.13% of pilots. 25.63% of pilots had work-related burnout with moderate or higher severity. High work demand, low work control, and numbers of red-eye flights were predictors of emotional distress and work-related burnout, and the average flight time is also significantly positively correlated with work-related burnout.

Conclusion Characteristics of active work with high work demand and high work control were observed in national civil aviation pilots. A considerable proportion of pilots experience emotional distress, daytime sleepiness, and burnout.