State of the Union: Aviation safety - one pilot or two on an airplane? - video Dailymotion

euronews (in English)

This edition of State of the Union focuses on the dispute between the aviation industry and pilots over the number of pilots on an airplane.

Transcript

00:00Hello and welcome to State of the Union, I'm Stefan Grobe in Brussels.

00:09When Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban traveled to Russia and China on a self-assigned

00:14peace mission recently, he should have known that he would risk a backlash among his colleagues

00:19in the European Council.

00:21And so it happened.

00:23This week was payback time.

00:25At the Foreign Affairs Council, the EU's top diplomat delivered a blistering rebuke

00:29against Orban and accused the newly-minted rotating Council President of disloyalty.

00:35Borrell confirmed the next informal Foreign Ministers' Meeting to be held in Brussels,

00:40effectively kicking a previously planned meeting in Budapest off the agenda.

00:45We have to send a signal, even if it is a symbolic signal, that being against the foreign

00:53policy of the European Union and disqualifying the policy of the European Union as the party

01:00of war has to have some consequences, well, formal consequences.

01:07Whether the Hungarian government will use the summer weeks to contemplate about maybe

01:12a different approach remains to be seen.

01:15I'd be surprised.

01:17To something more meaningful now, at the 25th International AIDS Conference in Munich this

01:23week, researchers, medics and politicians were trying to find ways to cure the epidemic.

01:29Around 40 million people worldwide are still living with the disease, an awful number despite

01:35all the medical progress that has been made over the decades.

01:39While AIDS has pretty much dropped off the radar in wealthy countries, the fight continues

01:45in many of the world's poorer parts, a fight that needs not only money and research but

01:51also empathy.

01:53One person dies of AIDS every minute.

01:56One person every minute.

01:59That is something we must change.

02:02Our common goal is to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

02:06We need more research, better prevention, people-centered information and thorough testing.

02:15But what we really have to keep working on is the fight against discrimination and stigma.

02:21Speaking of a danger to health, the European Cockpit Association of Commercial Pilots launched

02:27an ad campaign in Brussels' airport bathrooms this week to raise awareness of what they

02:33believe to be a massive safety risk, a proposal by aircraft manufacturers and airlines to

02:39have one pilot at the controls only and not two.

02:43The idea has sparked massive resistance among pilots and is currently being evaluated by

02:48the European Aviation Safety Agency.

02:52For more details, I'm now joined by Tanja Hater, Technical Affairs Director at the European

02:57Cockpit Association.

02:58Welcome to the program.

03:01Thanks for having us.

03:03So let me get straight to the point.

03:05Why do we need two pilots on an airplane?

03:08Two pilots on an airplane are there for a reason.

03:12We do have all the systems, everything on an aircraft, at least twice.

03:18That includes the pilots.

03:21Pilots have very distinctive roles.

03:23They work together very closely, communicate all the time, and that's how they solve problems

03:32and operate the flight.

03:34So it's always two that are doing this and are thinking about what's ahead and what the

03:44issues are.

03:46The ECA, your organization, as well as thousands of pilots worldwide are advocating against

03:53the extended minimum crew operations for quite some time now.

03:58Why is it obviously so difficult to convince the industry?

04:02It is a very tempting issue for various reasons.

04:08One might be a cost-cutting exercise.

04:12The other might be the issue of presumed or perceived pilot shortage.

04:21All of these issues are coming our way and are used for a reason.

04:25What we haven't heard is a really pressing safety issue.

04:30We know that aircraft manufacturers and airlines are the ones who are pushing for flights with

04:34one pilot.

04:35How will the aviation authorities and regulatory bodies react?

04:40Well, Airbus, as one of the manufacturers, apparently driven by their customers, the

04:46operators, has placed a request for certification of such an aircraft to the European regulator.

04:54They are looking into the issue and the certification process is underway.

05:01On top of that, they will start room-making, accompanying the whole thing, all the operational

05:09side of the house, as far as we know, this fall.

05:13The call for experts has been out and we are waiting for the room-making to start, but

05:17it is definitely the plan.

05:20So when can we expect this issue to be settled once and for all?

05:25Well, that is a very good question.

05:29The room-making is supposed to start in the fall.

05:34If you look at the European plan for aviation safety, which is the timeline we are working

05:39with, they want to put it into operation as soon as 2027.

05:45All right, we'll be monitoring this closely.

05:48Thank you, Tanja Harter there from the European Cockpit Association.

05:51Thank you so much for your insights today.

05:53Thank you very much for having us.

05:58It might be necessary these days to tell pilots about a stunning phenomenon in Cyprus.

06:03There, the small community of Messana has been swarmed by tens of thousands of migrating

06:10swallows.

06:11The birds are resting on utility poles and high-voltage lines.

06:16Why the swallows gather there only between six and eight in the morning and then scatter

06:22is a mystery.

06:24They repeat this process religiously for two summer months until they fly to Africa in

06:29early September.

06:30According to experts, the birds relate to each other and begin travel plans.

06:36It might also be a way of organizing their large community.

06:40No one knows for certain.

06:43The lore has it that it brings bad luck to those who try to anger the birds.

06:50Someone should really tell the pilots.

06:54That's it for this edition.

06:55I'm Stefan Grober.

06:56Thank you for watching.

06:57Have an excellent week.

State of the Union: Aviation safety - one pilot or two on an airplane?

Category

Transcript

Recommended