9 March 2022 – MONTREAL/BRUSSELS, 09 March 2022 - As the war in Ukraine intensifies, IFALPA and ECA stand in solidarity with the pilots, crew, and people of Ukraine: “We are deeply concerned for our Ukrainian friends and colleagues who are facing a Russian attack against their country, their freedom, and their people,” says Jack Netskar, IFALPA President (...)

7 Feburary 2022 – The ETF, EFFAT, UNI Europa, IndustriAll Europe and ECA welcome the Toulouse Declaration on future sustainability and decarbonisation in aviation, which was adopted on 4 February 2022 the Aviation Summit under the French presidency of the Council of the EU. The resilience of air transport in the context of the health crisis, the reduction of the sector’s carbon footprint and the technological and social impact of these challenges were broadly debated during the two-day flagship event for aviation of the French Presidency. Speaking on behalf of all worker organisations at the Summit, ETF General Secretary, Livia Spera welcomed the ambitious aims of the Declaration and the recognition of the need for systemic change in the aviation sector (...)

9 December 2021 – The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) commends the pilots of Cathay Pacific Airways who have selflessly assisted their international pilot colleagues during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pilots from around the world have experienced extremely difficult and oppressive quarantine situations in Hong Kong throughout the pandemic. Cathay Pacific pilots have provided countless care packages, food, essential appliances, and other necessities to their quarantining colleagues in Hong Kong. Most importantly, they’ve provided the comforting presence of a friendly local pilot colleague and their Association. Many Cathay Pacific crewmembers and their families have also been subject to these harsh quarantine facilities and understand their colleagues’ plight firsthand (...)

18 October 2021 – On the occasion of the signature of the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (hereafter: “agreement”) between the EU and the State of Qatar, the Europeans for Fair Competition (E4FC) once again calls on the crucial importance of the enforcement and application of the provisions set out in the agreement. E4FC believes that the signature of the agreement provides a unique opportunity to follow-up on the cornerstones of this agreement, which – from now onwards - will be provisionally applied. In practice, the EU market will now be immediately and unilaterally opened to Qatar Airways, an airline that already claimed to be the largest in the world and - thanks to uncontrolled state support - chose to fly more routes than any other airline during the COVID-19 crisis, regardless of passenger demand (...)

28 June 2021 – Today the Council of the EU adopted the signature of the comprehensive air transport agreement between the European Union and the State of Qatar. Now that the agreement is signed, Europeans for Fair Competition (E4FC) would like to point out that the parties will need to deliver on the comprehensive fair competition provision, which includes commitments on transparency and allows for safeguard measures in case of breach. Therefore, E4FC calls on the Commission from the outset to take the necessary steps to ensure a proper and effective implementation of this provision and to safeguard fair competition (...)

24 May 2021 - The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) and the European Cockpit Association (ECA) fully share the concerns expressed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regarding the forced landing of Ryanair Flight 4978 in Minsk, Belarus, on 23 May. Pilots are concerned that the intervention of the Belarussian Air Force was enacted for political reasons, in contravention of the Chicago Convention, and amounts to an act of unlawful interference, bearing all the hallmarks of state-sponsored hijacking (...)