European pilots and cabin crew are experiencing unusually high levels of fatigue, incompatible with an acceptable level of flight safety, despite recent European legislation that is supposed to counter this. A new study reveals major shortcomings of the Flight Time Limitations (FTL) – i.e.

EU and Qatari airlines will enjoy 3rd and 4th freedom traffic rights for passenger flights and ‘limited’ 5th freedom rights for cargo operations. This market opening is in line with the EU’s quest for further liberalisation in aviation and its ambition to reach agreements with other 3rd

A key part of the FTL regulation was a requirement mandated by the European Parliament in the face of evidence that the original rules exceeded the recommendations of fatigue scientists in a number of areas. It required a scientific study to be undertaken, examining six areas where there

A new revision of the EU regulation on pilots’ background checks introduces an “intelligence pillar” as of 31 Dec 2020. The new requirement to include and analyse intelligence information will become a mandatory element of the thorough background checks which pilots undergo every 5 year.

The way we screen and recruit pilot cadets in Europe is an issue that lately has been raising eyebrows amongst industry experts. Today, the bulk of training schools screen their future clients – the cadets ¬– themselves. The industry has turned a blind eye to this conflict of interest for

Pilots and Air Traffic Controllers should be familiar with the best practice “Drone Sighting Guidelines” (developed by BALPA and GATCO and widely endorsed), and follow them.

“Bigjet 141, Go Around, I say again, Go Around, acknowledge.”

Outwardly: “Groan…” 

Inwardly: maybe a little bit of a startle, perhaps a certain amount of adrenaline.

“Go Around.” These words, and the reactions to them, are some of the most important to a pilot, whether initiated

Wet-leasing is the practice of airlines hiring aircraft with crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI) to either cover an unforeseen short-term need or when business needs a longer-term (seasonal) capacity increase without necessarily buying and manning new aircraft. Wet-leasing is growing

2018 was a pivotal year for Ryanair and its pilots and cabin crew, engaging in the previously unchartered territory of social dialogue. As negotiations on Collective Labour Agreements (CLAs) continue at varying speeds throughout Europe, Ryanair persists in using threats as a bargaining

Was the EU Employment Commissioner Marianne Thyssen right to tell Michael O’Leary that the “EU internal market is not a jungle” and there are rules that employers should abide by? Her statement was indeed correct. But it was also a highly optimistic representation of reality on the ground