In our last Cockpit Flash, we published an article underlining recent worrying events at the head of Belgian CAA, following a breach of civil aviation legislation by a Belgian operator for two TV programs.

We regretted at that time that our letters and calls to Mr. Wathelet remained unanswered, in particular our open letter from 24 March 2014. In July, Mr. Wathelet finally responded to this letter. Unfortunately, his letter did not meet our expectations. While we were questioning the attitude of the BCAA and his cabinet in letting the first flight take place, he simply replied that the BCAA “followed the legislation in place” and therefore “sent their report” to the judiciary, which is the only body competent to adopt sanctions. He therefore did not explain why the BCAA did not try to prevent the flight from being operated. With the new government recently formed, we can only hope that the next transport cabinet will be more transparent and will listen to our concerns.