On 24 February, during its extraordinary General Assembly, ECA Member Associations elected two new Executive Board members: Nico Voorbach, from the Dutch association, as President of ECA; and Jon Horne, from the British association, as Professional Affairs Director. The General Assembly thanked Martin Chalk, for his dedication as ECA President for the last six years and his great contribution to aviation safety.

Following the election in November 2010 of two new Technical Directors (Francis Nardy and Álvaro Gammicchia), these two new additions to the team strength ECA’s Executive Board. The election of a new President is a very important step in any association’s lifetime, as it determines the path that the association wants to take. Nico Voorbach, a B-777 pilot working at KLM, stressed during his speech that the pilot profession faces many challenges in Europe, with pilot unity at EU level being the only means to be successful in achieving higher levels of aviation safety and security in Europe.

Martin Chalk, who has served as ECA President for the last six years, was applauded and thanked by all the Member Associations for his strong commitment to and involvement in the cause of aviation safety. In his farewell words, he thanked the Member Associations for their support all over these years and stressed that the election of a new Board is an opportunity for ECA to bring new ideas that will help achieve ECA’s aims.