2013 Achievements and 2014 Targets

On 11 March, BeCA held its 2014 Annual General Assembly that some of you attended. It was the occasion for you to meet the team who work hard to defend your rights, to get updated about current issues BeCA is dealing with and to ask your questions. Below, you will find a brief summary of the main items discussed.

2013 Achievements

The BeCA Executive team was – again – very active in 2013, and our actions on many topics were noticeable (EU Flight Time Limitations and Pilot Fatigue, for instance). A new Air Safety Coordinator was identified to help the Executive team redevelop BeCA’s core activities on Flight Safety. The work will start shortly and a private internet platform will be created to allow members to get access to important safety information and documents.

Our lobbying skills also improved with a constantly expanding political network. An important and necessary development was the adoption of a new media policy. Dealing on the spot with journalists is often difficult because of their lack of understanding combined to their “hunt for spectacular scoops” which can distort our rational arguments. Staying silent was not an option. This is why BeCA developed strong structured messages emphasizing the pilots’ crucial role in decision-making as main safety actors. BeCA always insists that the authority of PIC / crew must be protected against all types of pressure (economical pressure, disrespectful climate from management, poor working conditions, unstable contracts, etc.).

BeCA’s Executive Committee also nominated two official dedicated spokespersons: F. Uytthenhove (FR) and Filip Van Rossem (NL) who will assist the BeCA executive team in media relations.
BeCA’s Executive Committee decided to improve our communications tools. We therefore hired a freelance Communications Officer with aviation experience, who is helping us improve our communications towards our members and the external public.

On the European level, our integration into ECA has evolved. BeCA  provides daily  inputs into many of their  actions (Flight Data Protection, Flight Time Limitations, Occurrence Reporting, Ryanair Pilot Group, etc.).

BeCA Targets in 2014 and beyond

2014 promises to be another challenging year to defend our profession. Along with the usual issues we cover, here is a short list of priority areas for 2014.

• There is definitely a need for BeCA “ambassadors” in every airline to deal with pilots’ topics that are non union matters. For instance:

• Enforcing effective Just Safety / Non Punitive Culture

• Evaluation by independent pilot experts of the efficiency of Fatigue Management Reporting Systems

• Generalisation of Occurrence Reporting and protection of reporters

• Appointment of Hotline coordinators (Accident/Incident Assistance) within every airline & fleet.

In addition to to these safety roles, there is a need to rethink  BeCA’s  Company Pilot Boards which structure BeCA’s legal and technical support to pilot groups.