We are deeply worried about the fact that agreements that enable pilots to contribute to flight safety work on behalf of their pilot union have been cancelled or are currently not respected.

Pilot experts, on behalf of their union and through ECA have been contributing their expertise and have helped shape many advances in aviation safety through their work at EASA, the EU and International institutions for decades.

“Trying to silence the voice of pilots won’t work,” said Paul Reuter, Vice-President of ECA. “This will not only create a painful breach of trust between the pilots and their airline that will have long-lasting negative consequences but it will also have a lasting potential negative impact on flight safety.”

While European pilots understand that contract negotiations can be difficult and disagreement may exist, we believe that preventing pilot union representatives to engage in safety relevant work is not acceptable.

Paul Reuter states that “The European pilots stand for their colleagues and ask Lufthansa to stop impeding the pilot representative’s work and invite them to resume a constructive and respectful dialogue swiftly. Flight Safety work must never fall prey to industrial grievances.