First of all, I would like to wish you all a happy and healthy 2013! I hope this year will be one to be remembered in aviation history for the safety improvements that will be agreed in Europe and in the world. I therefore sincerely hope that the European Commission in coordination with EASA, the European Parliament and the European Council will take their responsibility and adapt the current proposal for Flight Time Limitations legislation in a safe and science-based manner. With a ‘Walkout for Safety’ on 22 January, pilots and cabin crew will remind European policy-makers – as well as the travelling public – that aircrew fatigue is too dangerous not to be properly addressed by the new rules.
Another safety improvement to be achieved in 2013 would be the respect and protection of the Captain’s authority. During the winter break a Dutch documentary showed four Ryanair pilots sharing their serious concerns about the company culture promoted by Ryanair management and blew the whistle on cost-cutting fuel policies. The pilots said they’d often feel that a fear culture within the company undermines their authority as Pilot in Command. This has serious implications for safety as the Captain needs to be able to take all necessary safety decisions without pressure from management. The anonymous pilots’ testimonies further questioned Ryanair’s employment practices. A large chunk of pilots are not direct employees of Ryanair but contract workers employed through a broker agency. Ryanair has briefly responded calling the pilots’ claims “clearly false and baseless accusations”.
To make 2013 a landmark for safety in Europe, we need to improve how we organize safety oversight. In this issue of CN, you will read an article concerning the worrying situation of safety oversight in Europe today and the challenges faced by national Civil Aviation Authorities in performing their obligations.
Finally, 2013 will be looking at how to improve safety by learning through better and thorough reporting and investigation of accidents and incidents. The European Commission has made an important step towards better, pro-active prevention of air accidents with a new legislative proposal on occurrence reporting in civil aviation.
I wish you lots of happy and safe landings in this historically safe 2013!
by Nico Voorbach
