EU bespreekt limiet werktijden piloten (en)

How much rest do pilots need to ensure safety in the air? The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has proposed EU-wide rules setting limits on how long pilots could fly and be on duty. The Commission will use the plans as the basis of its own proposal. On 18 June the EP's transport committee consulted representatives of pilots, airlines and aviation authorities on the issue of tired pilots, the new rules and passenger safety. However, experts disagreed about what the optimum limits should be.

What the experts said

EASA recommends reducing the flight duty period at night to 11 hours, down from the current 11 hours and 45 minutes. Pilots want a limit of 10 hours. Jon Horne, from the European Cockpit Association (ECA), said the EASA proposal ignored scientific advice, was too complex and proposed a harmonisation that was too strict. If you included actual flying, preparations and standby time, the proposal would require crew to land a plane after a working day of up to 22 hours, Mr Horne said, which is why he urged an 18-hour limit.

Jean-Marc Cluzeau, representing EASA, defended the proposal: "By taking a holistic approach, our conclusion was that 11 hours flight duty at night plus additional rest in the cases of jet lag, early starts and late arrivals, also additional weekly rest and implementation of fatigue risk management principles, are at least as safe as the flight duty of 10 hours."

Vincent De Vroey, from the Association of European Airlines (AEA), added: "Based on this proposal Europe will continue to have one of the strictest flight time limitation rules in the world, even stricter than the national rules in many European countries."

How MEPs reacted

Saïd  iEl Khadraoui, a Belgian member of the S&D group who is one of two MEPs responsible for steering the proposals through Parliament, said: "We would prefer to have something on the table that is more or less acceptable by everybody."

Brian Simpson i, a British member of the S&D group who is the chair of the transport committee, stressed: "There is no in-between. It's either the old plan or the new plan. That's the choice that Parliament has when we get the Commission's proposal."

Georges Bach i also raised concerns over the new plans. The Luxembourg member of the EPP group said: "I hope that in its proposal the Commission won't put the profits of airlines that want to cut staff costs ahead of passenger safety."