“Safety is never given. It is a continuous challenge for all of us. [What] we have in common [is] that our primary purpose in life is to increase the level of safety in aviation,” was the key message with which EASA’s Executive Director Patrick Ky kicked off ECA’s General Assembly in Brussels last week.

Mr Ky, who is leading the Agency since September 2013, addressed pilots’ associations representatives and reflected on the need to work together with all industry stakeholders to improve aviation safety. He praised ECA’s expertise, operational experience and continuous efforts to engage in open dialogue with the Agency. 

Central attention in his keynote speech was given to the need for adequate aviation regulations and oversight. In the past ten years, EASA has actively been setting the EU referential on certain domains, such as airworthiness, Flight Crew Licencing and Operations. Now, the Agency has entered a transition period during which it will have the opportunity evaluate what has been achieved and what can be improved. In this regard, Mr Ky stressed on the need to achieve the right balance when it comes to rulemaking and its complexity – regulation should be simple enough to be implemented and complex enough to cover all necessary aspects of aviation. 

Mr Ky also sounded a note of caution about potentially lacking resources for performing proper oversight and inspection activities by national aviation authorities. The impact of the economic recession on the available resources for oversight is not to be underestimated and Mr Ky stressed this to be one of his top priorities.