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  • SIPA – Swiss Independent Pilot Association
  • AEROPERS – Airline Pilots Association
  • ESPA – easyJet Switzerland Pilots Association
  • AEROPERS – Airline Pilots Association

PRESS RELEASE OF THE EUROPEAN COCKPIT ASSOCIATION ECA

There are several approaches when it comes to regulating safety in different industries. Regulators can prescribe exactly what actions entities (e.g. airlines) are to take to improve their safety performance. They can also prescribe the desired outcome allowing the regulated entity to decide how to achieve this. This so-called 'Performance-Based Regulation' approach can become an important tool to manage and enhance aviation safety in view of the expected significant growth in air traffic. Yet, it can also pose new hazards if implemented or overseen inadequately.

In a position paper published today, the European Cockpit Association outlines the potential benefits of Performance-Based Regulation (PBR), as well as the related hazards and ways to prevent them. Evidence shows that if implemented or overseen inadequately, Performance-Based Regulation can turn into a real threat to aviation safety, rather than the intended contrary. The financial sector, the oil drilling industry and the Fukushima disaster have shown the potentially catastrophic consequences of relying mainly on the industry to craft and monitor solutions for safety problems.

"You have got to make sure that the new 'model' works before you do away with the old one," says ECA President Capt. Dirk Polloczek. "Compliance and 'box ticking' exercises, which are common nowadays, are not sufficient in our current dynamic industry. But loosely specified Performance-Based Regulation standards – combined with 'light-touch' oversight – can also pose a threat. This is why the implementation of PBR will have to be a gradual, step-by-step process that includes regular assessment and feedback loops, an "emergency break" mechanism and ability to be strictly overseen."

The successful implementation of a performance-based system into aviation will depend to a large extent on the ability of oversight authorities, such as National Aviation Authorities and EASA, to provide sufficient and adequate resources and expertise, as this type of oversight will be significantly more resource-intensive than today's checking of compliance with prescriptive rules.

"There is a long list of potential benefits associated with PBR, such as more effective risk management and more efficient oversight" says Capt. Paul Reuter, ECA Technical Board Director. "So it is a step which European pilots are committed to accompany at all levels. To succeed, several preconditions need to be fulfilled: The system's 'maturity' at European, national and operator-level, must be assessed and established prior to implementing such a scheme, including a prior assessment of the operators' and organisations' internal safety culture. And front-end safety professionals – in particular flight crew and their representation – need to be involved as equal stakeholders at all stages and levels. Only if the system is based on mutual trust and transparency, will we be able to reap the expected safety benefits."

PRESS RELEASE OF THE EUROPEAN COCKPIT ASSOCIATION ECA

The European Cockpit Association engaged with over 50 decision-makers and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) at a cocktail reception in the European Parliament in Brussels. Hosted by MEPs Mrs Jutta Steinruck and Mr Georges Bach, who opened the event, the "Welcome on Board" reception provided opportunity for pilots from across Europe to share their front-end, professional experience about what "lives" in the industry.

MEPs, their assistants and active airline pilots discussed critical areas of concern in aviation: unfair competition from inside and outside of Europe, declining pilot training standards, and the need for strong EU safety legislation and oversight. A short video illustrated these priority areas and invited MEPs to join forces in keeping Europe's aviation safe, sustainable & fair.

Capt. Dirk Polloczek, ECA President, said on the occasion: "This event paves the way for further cooperation between European pilots and decision-makers. Today, we met people who have genuine interest in the industry and its employees. We would like to continue this constructive dialogue and foster our relationship throughout the next 5 years."

Seit dem 1. Januar 2015 ist der Verband der Schweizer easyJet Piloten (easyJet Switzerland Pilots Association – ESPA) wieder Mitglied der SwissALPA.

ESPA war bereits einmal Mitglied der SwissALPA, trat 2010 jedoch aus. Die Schweizer easyJet Piloten liessen sich in der Folge vom VPOD in Genf vertreten. Seit einem Jahr stellt easyJet in der Schweiz Leihpiloten über die Firma Ressource Group mit Sitz in Zug an. Die meisten dieser Leihpiloten sind keine Schweizer und werden deshalb zu einem günstigeren Tarif aus dem Ausland bezogen. Die Anstellung dieser Leihpiloten führte deshalb zu einem Konflikt mit den festangestellten Piloten der easyJet Switzerland.

Die easyJet Piloten sind innerhalb der European Cockpit Association (ECA) in der easyJet Pilot Group (ePG) organisiert. Als ESPA aus der SwissALPA austrat, wurden sie auch aus der ECA und der ePG ausgeschlossen, da eine Mitgliedschaft nur über die SwissALPA möglich ist. Dadurch, dass ESPA seit 1.1. wieder Mitglied ist, haben sie wieder Anschluss an die ECA und die ePG und können sich mit ihren Kollegen vernetzen und austauschen. Ebenfalls sind sie durch die SwissALPA Teil des schweizerischen Pilotendachverbandes und können so auch auf nationaler Ebene mitreden.

Wir freuen uns, dass die Piloten der neben Swiss zweitgrössten Fluggesellschaft wieder in der SwissALPA vertreten sind. Gemeinsam sind wir stärker.

(Anmerkung: easyJet Switzerland ist eine eigenständige Firma mit Sitz in Genf und einer zweiten Basis in Basel. Sie ist die einzige Tochterfirma der englischen easyJet.)

Press Release of the European Cockpit Association ECA

On the eve of the European Transport Ministers' Council meeting in Brussels (3 Dec), pilots from across Europe raise a red flag about practices which distort competition in aviation and threaten to diminish the industry in Europe. If not addressed urgently, the aviation industry in Europe – as we know it today – could disappear.

Harmful business practices and employment models are among the many market distorting elements spelled out in a new publication, issued by ECA today. More and more airlines are seeking competitive advantage through reducing their labour costs, taxes and social charges: fake self-employment of crews, social dumping and regulatory shopping are spreading quickly, with some companies seeking to benefit from light regulation and favourable taxation regimes in countries that serve them as a 'flag of convenience'.

"It is worrying to see how some airlines are redefining the landscape," says ECA President Dirk Polloczek. "It might be tempting to cut costs by basing your air crews on a different continent, registering your aircraft in a "tax haven" or asking young pilots to pay for flying your company's aircraft. But this destroys jobs in Europe, carves out tax and social security payments in EU Member States, and forces other airlines to follow the example if they don't want to be wiped out of the market."

Distorted competition is equally acute when it comes to airlines from outside Europe. Economically booming air carriers from Asia and the Middle East are often state-sponsored or state-owned, with access to cheap infrastructure, capital and fuel – and are mostly a tool in their governments' wider economic strategy. At the same time, they are subject to non-transparent accounting standards and sometimes less stringent regulations than their European counterparts.

"Our carriers can neither match the Gulf carriers' resources, nor can they – or should they – rely on state aid or subsidies," says ECA Secretary General Philip von Schöppenthau. "Our airlines can only be profitable if their competitive environment is not distorted. This is why pilots from across Europe call upon Ministers, the new Commission and the newly elected Members of the European Parliament to put fair competition at the centre of the European aviation policy."

To stop the trend towards unfair competition, concrete actions are required: better coordinating and strengthening of the social regulations, eradicating abusive business models and social dumping, and ensuring a competitive level playing field vis-a-vis state-sponsored foreign carriers. Download the publication & Download the Motion adopted at ECA Conference

Press Release of the European Cockpit Association ECA

Last week, a Swedish airport received the first ever license to control planes through a remote tower at an airport located somewhere else. European pilots recognise that such Remote Tower Services (RTS) will be part of future air operations and can bring potential benefits if – and only if – they guarantee an equivalent or higher level of flight safety, compared to local air traffic control. With demand for such remote services growing and technology advancing, it is therefore time for regulators and industry – including pilots – to carefully evaluate the RTS concept and its technology.

To contribute to the debate, ECAÂ today released an assessment and position paper on RTS, their advantages, drawbacks and conditions for their safe and sustainable introduction into the air transport system.

Commenting on the ECA position paper, ECA President Nico Voorbach stated: "Aviation is by definition a sector driven by groundbreaking technologies and constant innovation. This is why we as pilots are always open-minded for new technologies and are willing to work together with industry to ensure RTS meets – and even improves – the safety of our flight operations," says Voorbach, who is an active pilot himself. "This is why we identified a number of areas where further work is needed to ensure that RTS operations don't pose safety risks and don't lose their attractiveness."

Remote Tower Services allow air traffic control at an airport to be performed remotely, i.e. somewhere else than in the local control tower, making use of high-tech video and sensor equipment. Their core value is to overcome geographical limitations, allowing smaller airfields or rural airports with few aircraft movements to be upgraded to fully controlled ones. Also, war zones or areas where infrastructure has been destroyed, could be provided with such remote ATC services.

At the same time, as any new technology, there are areas of concern.

"Remote tower services – if introduced on a wider scale – will change the way we operate", says Álvaro Gammicchia, ECA Technical Board Director. "This means we need to think strategically and develop new common standards, recommended practices, and flight procedures to ensure safe and secure operations. For example, new methods for separation of aircraft and an airspace re-design might be necessary, as well as adequate contingency measures and procedures in case of hardware malfunction. Cyber security and protecting data transfers between aircraft and ground from hacking or viruses is another essential area of concern. All in all, we know that there are vast challenges, but there are also solutions."

Download Press Release |Â Download Position Paper

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