Close Menu
    Latest Category
    • Finance
    • Tech
    • EU Law
    • Energy
    • About
    • Contact
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Login
    • EU News
    • Focus
    • Guides
    • Press
    • Jobs
    • Events
    • Directory
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Home » How safe is Europe’s ‘ultra-safe’ aviation industry?

    How safe is Europe’s ‘ultra-safe’ aviation industry?

    npsBy nps23 March 2017Updated:28 June 2024 No Comments3 Mins Read
    — Filed under: Focus
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    — last modified 23 March 2017

    Under this ? slightly provocative ? question Members of the European Parliament, researchers and pilots gathered on 22 March for a breakfast debate in the Parliament. Hosted by MEPs Agnes Jongerius (S&D) and Georges Bach (EPP) ? they examined the key findings of the recent ‘Safety Culture in European Aviation’ study by the London School of Economics (LSE) and EUROCONTROL.

    Pilots called on decision makers to stop spreading “alternative truths” and instead recognise that not all airlines honour the same safety culture principles and that some business and employment models could be detrimental to aviation safety.

    “The LSE Study makes it hard for anybody to question the existence of a link between safety and socio-economic factors in aviation”, says ECA President Capt. Dirk Polloczek. “The decisions taken in the management boardroom on commercial priorities, on business set-ups and on employment forms, do have an undeniable impact on the safety culture of an airline. And because safety culture is an important precursor of safety, this study is a wake-up call for companies and EU decision-makers alike.”

    The LSE study reveals a number of clear trends & gaps in Europe’s aviation safety culture: Atypically employed pilots in self-employment, on zero- hour contracts or in temporary agency or pay-to-fly (P2F) schemes have a significantly more negative perception of their airline’s safety culture than their colleagues. This gap between pilots on atypical contracts and directly employed pilots is a finding that echoes previous scientific studies (e.g. ‘Atypical Employment in Aviation’, Ghent University, 2015) that identified atypical employment as an emerging trend which could negatively impact safety.

    Further alarming gaps in safety culture perception exist between Network, Low Cost and Cargo carriers: “While traditional network carriers still score high on many safety-related items, there is a striking discrepancy with Low Cost and Cargo carriers on all categories measured by the researchers,” explains Ignacio Plaza, ECA Deputy Secretary General. “The industry must dig deeper to identify ? and to address ? the underlying reasons why some airlines have a weaker safety culture than others.”

    The safety culture gap is particularly striking when it comes to the pilot fatigue: 83% of pilots working in Cargo and 76% in Low Cost companies state that pilots are tired at work (compared to an average of 52% for all pilots surveyed), and the same is true for 64.5% of pilots on atypical contracts. However, only few are comfortable to file a fatigue report ? meaning that fatigue is widely under-reported.

    Lack of trust in safety reporting and reluctance to report is another serious problem identified by the LSE study. Only 23% of pilots consider that National Aviation Authorities manage safety reports well and less than 50% think that aviation authorities take safety seriously.

    “This lack of confidence in the reporting system has important consequences on safety oversight,” states Dirk Polloczek. “In a sector where there are no, or only few accidents and serious incidents, aviation authorities measure safety performance mainly with regard to the reports received. But if pilots and other safety professional do not submit reports, or they are not processed well, our whole safety management and oversight system is at risk. This is yet another reason why Europe’s pilots are committed to working together with authorities, researchers, decision-makers and the airlines to address the weak links identified by the LSE study and to improve the safety culture in all airlines in Europe.”

    European Cockpit Association

    Add A Comment
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

    nps
    • Website

    Related Content

    EU agenda - Image by Andreas Lischka from Pixabay

    EU Agenda: Week Ahead – 19-24 May 2025

    Euro coins and notes - Photo by Pixabay

    Eurozone Economic Calendar

    Euro - ECB-Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

    Pound rallies as sentiment improves – Euro currency news daily

    TikTok - Image by Stefan Coders from Pixabay

    TikTok ads system ‘breaking EU’s online content rules’

    Greenhouse gas - Image by Karl Egger from Pixabay

    EU economy’s greenhouse gas emissions rose 2.2 pct in Q4 2024

    Farming tractor - Photo by Jannis Knorr on Pexels

    MEPs tighten screw on Russian and Belarusian agricultural goods

    LATEST EU NEWS
    Euro - ECB-Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

    Pound rallies as sentiment improves – Euro currency news daily

    16 May 2025
    TikTok - Image by Stefan Coders from Pixabay

    TikTok ads system ‘breaking EU’s online content rules’

    15 May 2025
    Greenhouse gas - Image by Karl Egger from Pixabay

    EU economy’s greenhouse gas emissions rose 2.2 pct in Q4 2024

    15 May 2025
    Farming tractor - Photo by Jannis Knorr on Pexels

    MEPs tighten screw on Russian and Belarusian agricultural goods

    15 May 2025
    Business accounting - Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels

    New EU approach to VAT for e-commerce imports to simplify trade and compliance

    14 May 2025

    Subscribe to EUbusiness Week

    Get the latest EU news

    CONTACT INFO

    • EUbusiness Ltd 117 High Street, Chesham Buckinghamshire, HP5 1DE United Kingdom
    • +44(0)20 8058 8232
    • service@eubusiness.com

    INFORMATION

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Info

    Services

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • EU News

    SOCIAL MEDIA

    Facebook
    eubusiness.com © EUbusiness Ltd 2025

    Design and developed by : 

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Sign In or Register

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below.

    Lost password?