Press Release ECA/IFALPA/ALPA : Global Pilot Leaders Unite to Keep Two Pilots on the Flight Deck
27 March 2023 – Leaders of the world’s largest pilot organizations today announced a global coalition to prevent airlines and manufacturers from pushing ahead with plans to remove pilots from the flight deck, a profit-driven scheme that poses a significant safety risk. Pilot representatives from the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA), the European Cockpit Association (ECA), and Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) vowed to take collective action to protect the flying public and counter an aggressive corporate-led lobbying campaign targeting regulators around the world, including the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) (...)
IFALPA Conference Statement: Global Pilots on Deteriorating Labour Conditions in Paraguay
29 May 2022 – The 76th Conference of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) in Singapore would like to draw the attention to the deteriorating labour situation affecting our colleagues of SAT Paraguay (Sindicato de Aeronavegantes de TAM) flying for LATAM Paraguay Airlines. The IFALPA Conference calls on the State of Paraguay and LATAM Airlines to respect pilots’ rights to free speech, their right to organize and the right to bargain collectively (...)
IFALPA Conference Statement: Global Pilots on Deteriorating Labour Conditions in the Asian Region
29 May 2022 – The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA), the Global Voice of Pilots, held its 76th Conference in Singapore this week. The Federation would like to draw global attention to deteriorating labour standards affecting pilots in many parts of Asia. Most States in the region have ratified International Labour Organization (ILO) fundamental Conventions 87 and 98: the Freedom of Association and the Right to Organize Convention, and the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, respectively. Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Association, to form unions and engage in collective bargaining are guaranteed under these conventions (...)
Press Release ECA/IFALPA : International Pilot Organizations Statement of Support for Ukraine
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 (...)
(Joint) Press Release: European trade union representatives support decarbonisation of aviation
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 (...)
Press Release: IFALPA Commends Extraordinary Efforts of Cathay Pacific Pilots
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 (...)
Press Release E4FC: Enforcement of the EU-Qatar comprehensive Air Transport Agreement should deliver long-awaited financial transparency
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 (...)
Press Release: E4FC calls on the European Commission to safeguard fair competition in the EU-Qatar Air Transport Agreement
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 (...)
Press Release SNPL: Are French airlines in Russia’s viewfinder ?
27 May 2021 - The French Union of Airline Pilots (SNPL) was more than surprised to learn that in the last few days flights to Russia operated by French airlines had to be cancelled due to the lack of formal operational authorisation from the Russian authorities. Indeed, since the beginning of the week, French airlines, like all European airlines, have been called upon to avoid flying over Belarus, due to the diversion of an airliner on Sunday by the Belarusian authorities (...)
Communiqué de presse/Press Release ECA / IFALPA : Global Pilots on Ryanair Flight 4978
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 (...)