WASHINGTON—Capt. Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), issued the following statement today in response to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) revised approach to reduced-crew operations. In its recent annual update, the European aviation safety regulator announced that it would be adjusting its rulemaking program to focus first on the development and deployment of advanced flightdeck technologies, while leaving the door open for approving single-pilot operations on commercial aircraft.
“Thanks to the extraordinary pressure brought to bear by airline pilots across the globe, European aviation regulators are retooling their review of reduced-crew operations. While this is a step in the right direction, whether it’s branded as ‘smart cockpits’ or extended minimum crew operations, removing pilots from the flight deck is a dangerous idea.
“We will remain vigilant in our commitment to ensuring the highest safety standards in commercial aviation and will fight any effort to reduce crew complement. The complexity of modern aircraft operations, coupled with the vital need for redundancy in safety-critical environments, requires maintaining a two-pilot flightdeck at all times, and we will not back down on that.
“No one understands better than a pilot that when an issue arises in flight, it is the pilots who are responsible for achieving a safe outcome. We’ve been proud to work as part of a global pilot union coalition to educate the public through our “Safety Starts With 2”campaign and look forward to partnering with industry stakeholders to ensure that improvements in technology—which are a good thing—do not replace pilots or allow operators to reduce crew complement.”
