As you may know, BeCA is playing an active role in the field of Cabin Air Quality (CAQ): we are the head delegates for Belgium in the setting up of a new European Norm (CEN/TC436 Cabin Air Quality on Civil Aircraft-Chemical Agents), BeCA chairs the ECA Task Group on Cabin Air Quality, and we are an active member of the Global Cabin Air Quality Executive (GCAQE – GCAQE.org). Below is a short update of the ongoing and future work in this area.

By Vinciane Cabaret, BeCA’s Cabin Air Quality Specialist

As for every EU rulemaking task, the work on setting up a new norm is going very slowly. In parallel, EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) issued a tender for a research study: “Investigation of the quality level of the air inside the cabin of large transport aeroplanes and its health implication”.

When the tender first came out, pilot associations, as well as customer associations, unions etc. were a bit worried about the aim of the research. The tender was published on a very short notice and left very little space to consult stakeholders from all sides. It looked like it was very much industry oriented.

Through ECA, a letter of complaint was sent to the European ombudsman and also to different EU Members of Parliament (such as Mr Henrik Hololei, DG Move, and Mrs. Violetta Bulc, European Commissioner for Transport).

It took a while to have a reply, but in the end, we had the opportunity to suggest scientific experts for the research’s scientific committee.

In order to establish a first contact as a stakeholder, ECA contacted DG Move directly in order to set up a meeting. This meeting was held end of April and was very constructive and open.

DG Move explained how the study would work and its aim. The study is run by a consortium led by TNO, an independent research organisation (www.tno.nl/en). Members of this consortium represent all stakeholders, from universities to aircraft manufacturers and airlines.

Things look pretty nice on paper, but we need to ensure the end-user’s interests will be taken into account.

The study’s first step is to make a synthesis of the researches that have been done so far, analyse the good and bad points, but also identify gaps.

In the meantime, a scientific committee made of experts will be formed. They will be responsible for overseeing the consortium’s work. In order to make sure that all parties are represented, and to guarantee neutrality, a stakeholder’s committee will be set up as well. ECA should receive soon an invitation to become part of this committee.

Things look pretty nice on paper (in vivo and in vitro tests, a well as replicating fume/smell events in a realistic way), but we need to remain careful and ascertain that the end-user’s interests (pilots, cabin crew, passengers, etc.) will be taken into account.
The results of the complete research are expected by the end of 2020.

Aircraft Cabin Air Conference London, 19-20 September 2017

The GCAQE is organising an Aircraft Cabin Air Conference in London on September 19 and 20. This conference is aimed at all stakeholders: accident investigators, pilots, health and safety professionals, airplane/engine manufacturers, etc.
The event will provide high-level presentations on cabin air from experts representing all sides of the industry.                

BeCA will be represented during this event. Any BeCA member interested in joining the CAQ team of experts is encouraged to send an email to beca@beca.be!

For more information on the conference, visit their website on www.aircraftcabinair.com.