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With every month, European aviation is drifting further & further away from the definition of “Social”. Despite the EU Commission’s pledge to create quality jobs, pilots have experienced a different reality – one with deteriorating conditions & social dumping. Keep reading +
by Capt. Otjan de Bruijn, ECA Vice-President
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The demise of regular direct aircrew jobs shows no signs of slowing down. A new form of atypical employment in aviation – pilot sharing – is now added to the already long list of creative set-ups. Along with self-employment, temporary agency work, pay-to-fly schemes, etc. certain airlines in Europe are now keen to create pools of pilots to be used throughout their various subsidiaries and branches. Many airlines nowadays operate under Air Operator Certificates (AOCs) issued by different European Member States. Pilot sharing – officially called “Crew Interoperability” – is a concept under review by EASA, aiming to give them more flexibility at a lower price. But is there future for it? Keep reading +
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Major European airlines, pilots and cabin crew organisations are joining forces to demand decent social standards and clear rules for the industry to abide by. The call comes when aviation stakeholders & decision-makers meet in Vienna for the high-level European Aviation Summit under the Austrian Presidency. Just a day before, several Transport Ministers urged the EU Commission to come up with concrete measures to achieve a ‘socially responsible connectivity’ and to ensure healthy and fair competition on Europe’s aviation market. Keep reading +
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Exposure to ionising radiation may be understudied but is a well-known health risk factor. For pilots and cabin crew – who spend their working days and nights in the air – this exposure is even more of a threat. In addition, the surge to choose nowadays more direct routes often increases the exposure.
While Europe is a role model in the world with its health and safety rules on protection from ionising radiation, crew still need to be aware of what are the options to reduce the exposure and what are the obligations of the airlines towards them. Keep reading +
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What can be done to ensure an appropriate supply of skilled, talented flight crews? Do we have enough qualified pilots currently on the market? Is there a pilot shortage or not? When answering these questions, one needs to consider various aspects, such as the region, type of operation, the experience of the pilot group considered and the economics of pilot supply. Keep reading +
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We must stop pretending that safety professionals - like pilots & cabin crew - can and should become 'self-employed'
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72 citizens, 28 organisations and a handful of air crew – this is the final number of opinions that would shape the European Union’s views and position on how to organise the EU aviation market. As a result of poorly planned consultation and an ill-designed survey, the European Commission will now have to revise an important regulation – EU Reg. 1008/20008 – based on a handful of opinions. Keep reading +
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One of the biggest constraints in air traffic control today is the saturation of voice communication channels. Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications, CPDLC, helps alleviate this saturation by providing another means of communication for aircrews and air traffic controllers. It works through the fast exchange of text messages via data link. Keep reading +
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