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European Cockpit Association

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European Cockpit Association
Formation1991[1]
HeadquartersBrussels, Belgium[1]
Membership
38 member associations[1]
President
Otjan de Bruijn[2]
Secretary General
Philip von Schöppenthau[2]
Websitewww.eurocockpit.be

The European Cockpit Association (ECA) is a trade union that represents European pilots. It has pursued the improvement of aviation policies to the benefit of its members, and has frequently spoken out in length on topics such as the impact of flight-time limitations on its members, the erosion of aviation safety culture, and the necessity of regulating the emerging subsector of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

History

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The European Cockpit Association (ECA) was established during 1991 with its headquarters being located in the City of Brussels, Belgium.[1] The association's express purpose is to advocate for the improvement of European policies in all areas of aviation that affect pilots, such as safety, pilot licensing, air operations, fair competition, international air traffic agreements, air traffic management and employment conditions. By June 2019, the ECA represented in excess of 40,000 European pilots from the National Pilot Associations across 36 European states.[1]

During January 2003, the ECA carried out a public protest against draft flight-time limitations proposed by the European Union; the association had concerns that some of the proposed duty periods may be excessively long and thus could lead to pilot fatigue.[3] In January 2012, together with the European Transport Workers' Federation, the ECA organised an EU-wide demonstration against the new flight-time rules proposed by the European Aviation Safety Agency; when the proposed legislation was enacted during the following year, the ECA described it as being "a sad day for European flight safety".[4] Furthermore, the ECA submitted related evidence to support the legislative process of several European nations.[5] In November of the same year, the ECA published a study on pilot fatigue, finding that four in ten pilots had fallen asleep in the cockpit.[6] In February 2017, the association claimed that the new EU working directives were being incorrectly applied by the industry.[7]

During 2014, the ECA spoke out against the implementation of the recently-introduced multi-crew pilot licence, singling out the alleged negative impact on flight training via a greater reliance on simulators over real-world experience.[8] In December 2016, the association critiqued the potential link between budget airlines and alleged reductions in operational safety margins.[9] Over the following years, the ECA has supported industrial action amongst its members that are employed by the budget airline Ryanair, leading to a relatively confrontational relationship between the association and the airline.[10][11] The EVA has also disputed claims of a pilot shortage, observing that such a shortage was frequently being used to justify weakening legislation to the detriment of its members.[12]

The ECA has maintained a long-term interest in the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in European airspace, and the potential ramifications thereof. In 2015, the association issued a list of proposals for regulating this emerging industry.[13] During October 2016, the ECA published a study into the safe integration of UAV traffic and methods of minimising the impact on conventional aircraft.[14] During the following year, it released a separate study into the potential impact of mid-air collisions between UAVs and manned aircraft.[15] That same year, the ECA's report into the threat posed by cyber attacks, along with proposed policy responses, was also issued.[16]

Following an injunction granted to the airline Air Malta in July 2016 against industrial action by its pilots, the ECA criticised the outcome as a fundamental danger to the rights of citizens.[17] During the Boeing 737 MAX groundings following the loss of two aircraft in quick succession to the same design flaw, ECA President Jon Horne called of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to adopt a stronger stance in vetting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to return the type to service, and claimed that members were losing faith in the regulator over its allegedly passive approach to its certification.[18]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, tens of thousands of workers in the aviation industry lost their jobs; the ECA repeated spoke out of the issue, warning governments against favouring looser employment contracts, and observed that roughly 20% of pilots were already employed in such a manner.[19][20] The association also released a report of envisioned policy suggestions to address the industry's crisis.[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "About ECA". European Cockpit Association. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b "ECA Team". European Cockpit Association. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  3. ^ Learmount, David (21 January 2003). "Pilots in safety protest". Flightglobal. London. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  4. ^ Milevska, Tanja (10 October 2013). "EU vote on flight time rules leaves pilots in dismay". euractiv.com.
  5. ^ "Flight time limitations". parliament.uk. 24 February 2012.
  6. ^ Paris, Natalie (19 November 2012). "Four in ten pilots admit falling asleep in the cockpit". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  7. ^ "New EU rules failing to stop pilot fatigue". pilotcareernews.com. 22 February 2017.
  8. ^ Learmount, David (15 January 2014). "European Cockpit Association slams multicrew pilot licence". Flight International.
  9. ^ "Low cost = low safety culture?". euagenda.eu. 7 December 2016.
  10. ^ "European Cockpit Association: Ryanair on confrontation course, again". eturbonews.com. 8 August 2019.
  11. ^ Kaminski-Morrow, David (8 August 2019). "Ryanair disputes BALPA claims of pilot strike support". Flight International.
  12. ^ Seligson, David (2019). "Women and aviation: Quality jobs, attraction and retention" (PDF). ilo.org. ISBN 978-92-2-031441-8.
  13. ^ "Concept of Operations for Drones A risk based approach to regulation of unmanned aircraft". euagenda.eu. 27 May 2015.
  14. ^ "Safe integration of drones into airspace study". euagenda.eu. 16 October 2016.
  15. ^ "Small Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (drones) Mid-Air Collision Study". euagenda.eu. 7 July 2017.
  16. ^ "Cyber Threat to Civil Aviation". euagenda.eu. 2 May 2017.
  17. ^ "Injunction against pilot strike places fundamental rights in danger - European Cockpit Association". independent.com.mt. 20 July 2016.
  18. ^ "European pilots want air-safety regulator to get tough on Boeing". economictimes.indiatimes.com. 22 May 2019.
  19. ^ "European Cockpit Association warns against government promoting 'precarious aircrew employment'". independent.com.mt. 4 August 2020.
  20. ^ Miley, Ingrid (27 April 2020). "Thousands of aviation personnel lose jobs". rte.ie.
  21. ^ "Out Of Covid Crisis - Pilots' flight plan for Europe". euagenda.eu. 13 July 2020.
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