On 9 October 2013, the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) unexpectedly adopted the Commission’s controversial proposed rules on aircrew Flight Time Limitations (FTL). This came as a sad surprise as a few weeks before, the European Parliament (EP) Transport Committee had voted against it. As you know, BeCA, hand-in-hand with the European Cockpit Association (ECA), had lobbied intensively at national level and organised many actions these past years, calling for safer rules. Unfortunately, the politicians once more conceded to the airlines’ demands, rejecting scientific recommendations and compromising aviation safety. But the battle continues.

 What happened?

Usually, once an EP Committee makes a vote on a proposal, the EP plenary simply follows its advice. This is why the vote was such a surprise to all European pilots’ associations, who had invested a lot of efforts and time in this issue.

There are two main reasons why they made this decision. First of all, the airlines fiercely lobbied towards the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and European politicians. The result was a flawed drafting process from the very beginning and EASA disregarding numerous scientific reports, losing its legitimacy as a “neutral” agency.

Secondly, our main ally in this battle, the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF, representing transport workers in Europe, including cabin crew and some pilots), who closely collaborated with ECA throughout the whole process, suddenly changed sides on the day before the vote. Without notice, the steering committee unilaterally decided to send a letter to all MEPs, supporting the proposed rules, without consulting their national members. This obviously weakened our position and created a lot of confusion about the crews’ position.

What’s next?

We should not focus on the past, but rather look at the future. Let’s be honest, the text still contains many safety loopholes. We demanded more prescriptive rules, but we got a blind trust in Fatigue Risk Management Systems (FMRS), which we know are not reliable. Basically, the new rules set the same limitations as the current EU legislation, but it will be much easier for the airlines to deviate from the rules, based on their FRMS. And we cannot count on EASA to effectively oversee these derogations.

BeCA, together with ECA, will therefore continue fighting, but on a different level. We now must ensure that the rules are interpreted and implemented in a safety-oriented way; that FRMS are used properly, involving crew representatives and with effective oversight from European and national authorities; and that fatigue reporting by aircrew is used in a frank and open manner.