On 24 February I had the honor to be elected as President of ECA. I have the difficult task but also the honor to succeed to Captain Martin Chalk who dedicated 6 years of his career to leading ECA Members at EU level.  I am keen on this challenge and I will put my full effort in the difficult tasks that lay ahead of us.

 Our major battle this year is the ongoing revision of Europe’s Flight Time Limitations (FTL) scheme. Our priority is to ensure that the future FTL rules are not the result of political and economic compromises.

Fatigue contributes to 15-20% of fatal accidents related to human error. This is a reality – and ignoring it would be irresponsible. Safety is at stake! Our lives and our passengers’ lives shall not be traded. EASA must establish strong European binding rules and certainly not allow a regression from the existing good national legislation. Our mission is to strive for the highest, scientifically based safety standards. ECA represents more than 38,600 pilots across Europe, and if necessary we have the power to make our voice heard – the argument of power.

Further we have to continue sharing our National and European operational expertise with European decision makers. We are highly skilled professionals and we know better than anyone else how to fly an airplane in safe conditions. We are the last line of defense when things go wrong on board an aircraft. We know most problems and always strive to find the appropriate responses. We are there to make the flight safe, for our passengers, our crew and those living under our flight paths. We know the aircraft and the environment we operate in. We can help the European Commission and its agencies like EASA, and bodies like Eurocontrol to make flying even safer, more efficient and greener. Our input is essential and shall be taken on board when legislative proposals are drafted.

We will make sure in the coming time that our arguments are heard and our advice taken seriously. For this I will coordinate the work together with the ECA team to be as efficient as possible. Our pilot members do the work in Working Groups on a voluntary basis and mostly in their spare time. Not because they have nothing better to do but because they do believe they can make a difference and make flying safer. Your effort and your dedication have to be rewarded.

As I said before I am proud to be given the confidence to lead this process and to support our pilot volunteers and staff. Together we can keep flying safe and make sure that safety is not traded in for commercial benefits.

Nico Voorbach

President