One of the most important issues threatening the safety of our profession are the proposed new rules to Flight Time Limitations (FTL). EASA has missed a chance to comply with ICAO Annex 6 to base FTL rules on scientific studies to ensure that fatigued air crew do not endanger flight safety. The proposed new rules are lowering the existing standards. During the ECA Conference held in Chiang Mai (Thailand) as part of the IFALPA Conference (7th – 11th April 2011) ECA Members voiced their concerns and tasked ECA to put all the necessary efforts to advocate for safe, science-based flight time limitations in Europe. The ECA Conference motion states: “This Conference identifies the current situation relating to the EASA FTL as a high priority crucial to safety and the pilot profession that is worth fighting for. Therefore the Conference decides to launch a full campaign.”
As pilots, we know what impairs or enhances safety. We experience this every day. Scientific studies underline the importance of a well rested crew. Experience and facts show that fatigue is an important contributing factor to air transport incidents and accidents around the world. Lowering the current standards – as EASA proposes – will again reduce flight safety. Europe is only the 3rd safest region in the world. This is unacceptable. Europe has the ability to be the safest region in the world. For the safety of our members, passengers and general public we always need to strive for higher safety – and we need the EU Institutions to do the same.
EASA’s proposed FTL rules are clearly based on the airlines’ commercial reasoning, rather than on scientific evidence. However, the airlines that will mostly profit from these new EASA rules are airlines with no or limited collective labor agreements (CLA) on FTL. These airlines will “miss”-use the new rules to push the flight crew to maximum flying hours and minimum rest.
This will not only result in lower safety levels but also in higher competitive pressure on those airlines that currently maintain higher safety standards through their agreements at company level. This competitive pressure – generated by EASA’s low-standards FTL rules – will push some, if not all, airlines to lower their CLAs – with detrimental effects on overall safety. It is difficult to understand why airlines with FTL agreements in their CLA are actually supporting EASA’s proposed FTL rules. They will only be beneficial to their low cost competitors.
Do we need a fatal accident in Europe to stop this? In the USA the FAA moved because of the tragic accident of Colgan Air in Buffalo New York, two years ago. Since then they realised that it is of upmost importance for the travelling public that crews are not fatigued when they perform their duties. The FAA’s new proposed legislation is based on scientific studies – including those studies that EASA decided to ignore in its own proposal. When the FAA rules enter into force in Aug. 2011, they will set a safety standard that the EU cannot afford to ignore.
ECA will keep on fighting for safer skies, for our members, our passengers and the general public. Our slogan is and will remain: “Piloting Safety”.
