A few hours before the crucial vote on the highly controversial Flight Time Limitations proposal, pilots – and Europe’s cabin crew – stress once again the need for Members of the European Parliament to vote for the Motion rejecting the Commission proposal, later today.
“A few unsubstantiated verbal ‘clarifications’ by Commissioner Kallas, made yesterday late evening, do nothing to make these Flight Time rules safe or acceptable for pilots and cabin crew,” says Nico Voorbach, ECA President, and a pilot himself. “The proposal still contains dangerous safety loopholes. They will allow pilots to land a plane – full of passengers – after being 22 hours awake. It also allows pilots to fly for 12hrs30 through the night. This is up to 25% longer than the 10 hours unanimously recommended by scientists. This is simply not safe and the Commissioner’s ‘clarifications’ do not change that. We urge the Members of the EU Parliament to follow the vote of the specialised Transport Committee and vote in favour of the motion for rejection of the proposal.”
“We do not buy the rhetoric of the Commission that this is a ‘take it or leave it’ package,” says ECA Secretary General, Philip von Schöppenthau. “These rules should be nothing but safe, scientifically-underpinned and based on best practices. This is not the case today and we have seen no commitment by the EU Commission to genuinely improve its proposal.”
“A plane with brand-new engines and new cockpit windows is nice. But as long as there is a crack in the wing, the whole plane is not safe to fly. This is the fundamental problem with the Commission proposal – it does not work and is not safe – this is why it must be firmly rejected,” adds Voorbach.
Members of the European Parliament, vote YES for the motion to reject this flawed proposal!
Join our safety petition – www.dead-tired.eu – 111 000 citizens already did so !
***
For further information, please contact:
Nico Voorbach, ECA President, Tel: +32 491 378 982
Philip von Schöppenthau, ECA Secretary General, Tel: +32 2 705 32 93
