The escalation in the conflict in the Middle East triggered serious concerns among the pilot community. Five airlines based in Belgium operated or were going to start operations to Tel Aviv. Our sister pilot associations IFALPA and ECA published position papers on flight operations in or over conflict zones. BeCA used those documents to develop recommendations to assist pilots who are scheduled to operate this kind of flight. Those guidelines are a checklist to assess if the crew received enough information and guarantees that the flight, including ground operations and layover for stranded crews. It must help pilots to determine if they are mentally fit to operate those special flights. BeCA is also developing its own position paper, which should be available soon.

Two weeks ago, BeCA wrote to the Prime Minister to clearly state that rescue flights in conflict or war zones should not be operated by commercial airlines. We were heard by the Prime Minister and repatriation flights were operated by military aircraft. All passenger airlines based in Belgium suspended their flights to Israel, but we remain vigilant to make sure that safety is not jeopardised when operating near conflict zones.