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EASA Flight Time Limitation Rules Draw Mixed Reviews

New flight time limitation (FTL) rules proposed by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have elicited varied responses from industry. The Association of European Airlines (AEA) generally welcomed the new regulations, while the European Cockpit Association (ECA) and some pilot unions said they are concerned the new proposals are not going far enough.

EASA on Wednesday published its updated draft rules documents, which include responses to comments from industry. Some of the provisions include a maximum duty time limit of 11 hours for the least favorable starting times as well as rules that address the effect of crossing several time zones. According to EASA, pilots should not fly more than 110 hours in 14 consecutive days.

"While the agency makes urgently needed improvements to its original proposal, more needs to be done to protect air passenger safety," ECA says. EASA "ignores scientific research in key aspects of its proposal," ECA adds. The pilots criticized what they see as excessive working times when on standby, and they believe that night duty should be limited to 10 hours. ECA also says there are many more areas that need improvements.

AEA, by contrast, argues that the EASA proposal "is extremely strict and will maintain Europe's position as a world leader in aviation safety." AEA Secretary General Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus says he is "disappointed that some pilot unions have tried to leverage this rule-making process to secure better commercial conditions. Individual elements may vary from other regimes around the world, but taken as a whole, these new European FTL rules will be among the most stringent in the world."