JPATS News

A Trigana Avions de Transport Regional ATR-42-300, registration PK-YSJ performing flight IL-251 from Jayapura to Oksibil (Indonesia) with 41 passengers and 4 crew, landed on Oksibil's runway 11 when upon nose gear touch down the nose tyres burst with a loud bang. The crew managed to stop the aircraft on the runway, the aircraft became disabled. There were no injuries.

https://avherald.com/h?article=52dd5aa5&opt=0

Incident: Swift B738 at Basel on Sep 30th 2025, unstable go around

A Swift Air Boeing 737-800 on behalf of DHL, registration EC-IXE performing flight QY-4908 from Brussels (Belgium) to Basel/Mulhouse (Switzerland/France), was on final approach to Basel's runway 15 when the crew initiated a go around at about 300 feet AGL (compensated for local pressure). The aircraft climbed to about 4200 feet MSL (transponder altitude 3950 feet) then the aircraft began to descend again and accelerated. The aircraft reached about 3360 feet MSL (transponder altitude 3100 feet) and 370 knots over ground (approximately 350 KIAS) before the aircraft began to climb again and reduced speed to normal, levelled off at 7000 feet MSL and positioned for another approach to runway 15. The aircraft landed on runway 15 without further incident about 15 minutes after the go around.

The aircraft remained on the ground for about 17 hours, then departed for the next sector.

A ground observer in the village of Leymen, who was woken by the aircraft, reported the aircraft was far more south than expected during a go around, only about 2.4nm north of mountain peaks reaching 2870 feet MSL.

https://avherald.com/h?article=52dd4b44&opt=0

Incident: Kalitta B744 at Anchorage on Sep 29th 2025, could not lower right main gear

A Kalitta Air Boeing 747-400 freighter, registration N745CK performing flight K4-615 from Hong Kong (China) to Anchorage,AK (USA), was on approach to Anchorage when the crew stopped the descent at 3300 feet due to an unsafe gear indication, the right main gear did not indicate down and locked. The aircraft entered a hold for about 30 minutes while working the checklists, then continued for a landing without right main gear touching safely down on runway 07R on left main, left body, right body and nose gear. The aircraft came to a safe stop on the runway. The aircraft was towed off the runway several hours later.

https://avherald.com/h?article=52dc82a4&opt=0

Incident: ANZ B789 at Apia on Sep 27th 2025, rejected takeoff

An ANZ Air New Zealand Boeing 787-9, registration ZK-NZE performing flight NZ-993 from Apia (Samoa) to Auckland (New Zealand), was accelerating for takeoff from Apia's runway 26 in heavy rain when the crew rejected takeoff at high speed. The aircraft slowed safely and returned to the apron.

Passengers reported the crew repeatedly advised the aircraft was being checked but did not explain, why the takeoff was rejected. They were told during the two hours on the ground however, that the brakes had overheated and engineers were checking the aircraft.

The aircraft was able to depart about two hours later and reached Auckland with a delay of about 1:45 hours.

https://avherald.com/h?article=52dd40c0&opt=0

Incident: Braathens ATR72 at Aarhus on Sep 27th 2025, engine problems

A Braathens Regional Avions de Transport Regional ATR-72-212A on behalf of Scandinavian Airlines, registration SE-MKO performing flight SK-1273 from Copenhagen to Aarhus (Denmark), was on final approach to Aarhus' runway 28L when one of the engines (PW127M) emitted bangs and streaks of flames. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on runway 28L.

Ground observers reported hearing loud bangs.

Passengers reported visible streaks of flame from the engine.

A source told The Aviation Herald that the aircraft experienced intermittent engine stall and vibrations during the entire approach.

The aircraft is still on the ground in Aarhus 4 days later.

https://avherald.com/h?article=52dd3aaf&opt=0

1 injured after Delta regional jets collide at LaGuardia Airport, airline says

Two Delta Air Lines regional jets collided at low speeds while taxiing Wednesday evening at LaGuardia Airport, according to the airline.

Endeavor flight 5155 was taxiing for departure when its wing made contact with the fuselage of Endeavor flight 5047 as it was taxiing to its gate after arriving, the airline said when releasing preliminary information.

"Their right wing clipped our nose and the cockpit we have damage to our windscreen and ... some of our screens in here," a pilot can be heard saying on the Air Traffic Control audio.

Delta said a flight attendant suffered a minor injury and no passenger injuries were reported. The flight attendant was transported to a nearby hospital out of precaution, according to Port Authority.

The collision took place around 9:56 p.m., and there was no impact to airport operations, according to the Port Authority.

"Delta teams at our New York-LaGuardia hub are working to ensure our customers are taken care of after two Delta Connection aircraft operated by Endeavor Air were involved in a low-speed collision during taxi. Delta will work with all relevant authorities to review what occurred as safety of our customers and people comes before all else. We apologize to our customers for the experience," Delta said in a statement.

Delta said it will cooperate with the Port Authority, Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board in their investigations.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/1-injured-delta-regional-jets-032300982.html

'NextGen' US air traffic reform effort faces delays, rising costs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Aviation Administration's $15 billion project to overhaul air traffic control has faced numerous delays, cost overruns and is less ambitious than what was envisioned more than 20 years ago, according to a new report.

Through the end of 2024, the FAA has achieved only about 16% of the total expected benefits from the NextGen effort that started in 2003. "FAA has delivered a delayed, over budget, and less transformational NextGen than originally planned," said the Transportation Department Office of Inspector General, which released the report on Wednesday.

Many key programs and capabilities have been delayed to 2030 or beyond while upgrades were added at far fewer sites than originally expected.

The FAA did not immediately comment.

The $1 billion Terminal Flight Data Manager program, an automation tool introducing electronic flight strips to eliminate outdated paper ones and more efficiently move aircraft, is behind schedule and will not be added to a series of airports until 2030.

FAA also reduced the number of airport deployments by 45% and scaled back the program’s planned capabilities, while costs have increased by more than 20%.

Congress in July approved $12.5 billion to overhaul the aging U.S. air traffic control system and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Wednesday called on Congress to award another $19 billion for the project.

The issues plaguing the FAA's air traffic control network have been years in the making, but public alarm has risen this year after a series of high-profile mishaps and near misses, as well as a catastrophic incident that killed 67 in January when a U.S. Army helicopter and a regional American Airlines jet collided.

The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels. The persistent shortage has delayed flights even as many staffers work mandatory overtime and six-day weeks.

Overtime costs for air traffic controllers have jumped by more than 300% since 2013, according to a government report in June. Air traffic controllers last year logged 2.2 million hours of overtime, costing $200 million.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/nextgen-us-air-traffic-reform-174638125.html

By the numbers: International hot air balloon fiesta to lift off in Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It’s the largest ballooning event in the world and one of the most photographed spectacles, drawing hundreds of thousands of spectators over nine days to watch as pilots from around the globe take to the skies in colorful hot air balloons.

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta kicks off Saturday with a mass ascension at Balloon Fiesta Park.

Fiesta attendees can walk among the inflating balloons and talk to pilots while scarfing down breakfast burritos and sipping piñon coffee. The roaring propane burners are not enough to drown out the cheers and whistles as the balloons drift upward.

The show is made even better by a combination of clear and cool mornings and a phenomenon known as the Albuquerque box: Different wind directions at different elevations allow pilots to adjust their flight patterns to stay close to the launch field, saturating the view for those on the ground.

The annual show has become quite a production over the last five decades. Here’s a by-the-numbers look:

Years the balloon fiesta has been held, having grown from a modest launch of 13 balloons in 1972 at a shopping mall parking lot.

543

Pilots registered to fly this year. More than 40 U.S. states and a dozen countries are represented, ranging from Belgium and Brazil to Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand and China. For 59 pilots, it will be their first time.

102

Specially shaped balloons, nearly a dozen of which will be making their debut. Fan favorites include Darth Vader, Smokey Bear, a family of giant bees and Airabelle the cow.

5,073

The elevation at Balloon Fiesta Park, in feet. At takeoff, balloons already are nearly a mile (1.6 kilometers) above sea level. Few if any rise above the nearby Sandia Mountains, which border the city’s east side and top out at 10,678 feet (3,255 meters).

Launch directors, affectionately referred to as zebras for their black and white striped uniforms. Like referees, they’re not shy about blowing their whistles as they check the airspace above the balloons to ensure it’s safe to ascend. Zebras go through three years of training, including two years spent on the field.

Acres of grass that make up the launch area, equivalent to 56 football fields. There are 208 launch sites within it from which balloons are rolled out, inflated and set soaring. As for landing, it can be a challenge when balloons drift. Pilots scan for any open spaces within the city where they can safely touch down. Sometimes it’s grassy park, other times it’s a parking lot or an empty patch of dirt.

838,337

Guest visits during the 2024 show, with 85% of them coming from outside of New Mexico. Spending on lodging, food, rental cars and other expenses resulted in an estimated $216 million economic impact for the metro area.

Food vendors, some of which stock up on tons of tortillas to dish out an unfathomable number of breakfast burritos. For pilots, the grab-and-go bundles often double as hand warmers as they prepare to take flight. Green chile cheeseburgers are another favorite, and a seemingly endless flow of coffee and hot cocoa fuels spectators in the predawn hours. The concession area stretches more than a third of a mile (half a kilometer).

375

Portable toilets. They’re a necessity with that much coffee and green chile going around.

60,000

Collector pins for sale. They come in all sizes and shapes, and there are days set aside just for trading among collectors.

3,000

Volunteers needed to produce the event. For some the work begins months in advance. Their wide range of duties include mailing event posters, staffing ticket booths, installing flags, charging batteries for the evening drone shows and managing the temporary RV lots and coveted, luxurious “glamping” tents. Volunteers also coordinate and serve in chase crews that help with balloon landings.

https://wtop.com/lifestyle/2025/10/by-the-numbers-international-hot-air-balloon-fiesta-to-lift-off-in-albuquerque/

Owner of jet in fatal I-75 crash files class-action suit against maker of engines

NAPLES, Fla. (WWSB) - The owners of a charter jet that crashed on I-75 in Naples in 2024 are suing the engine manufacturer and maintenance companies, alleging poor engine design and failure to disclose internal corrosion in the engines caused the crash.

The class-action suit by Hop-A-Jet (Bombardier CL-600 jet) and two of its subsidiaries names General Electric Company; GE Aerospace; Bombardier, Inc.; Learjet, Inc.; Turbine Engine Specialists, Inc.; and Duncan Aviation, Inc. as defendants.

The suit alleges the engines’ poor design made it difficult for mechanics and inspectors to discover corrosion in a critical internal area; and that the defendants did not warn operators of the potential problems.

“Although GE, Bombardier, and Bombardier Aerospace knew or should have known that defects and/or dangerous conditions existed in engines within the CF34 family of engines — including those CF34-3B engines on the Subject Aircraft—they did not communicate or warn owners, operators, or users of CF34-3B engines. Nor did GE, GE Bombardier, or Bombardier Aerospace warn governmental authorities or maintenance providers of CF34-3B engines of the defects and/or dangerous conditions,” the lawsuit says.

https://www.mysuncoast.com/2025/10/01/owner-jet-fatal-i-75-crash-files-class-action-suit-against-maker-engines/

Questions abound over the FAA’s management of Boeing

With airplane manufacturer Boeing under intense scrutiny for the better part of a decade, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been working to implement safety reforms at the company. But not everybody is satisfied with how the agency is handling things. The FAA has taken major regulatory actions against Boeing following a slew of safety mishaps, including a recently proposed $3.1 million fine, but also announced it will be letting the company have more control in the near future. While some have lauded the FAA’s oversight of Boeing, others are calling the agency’s actions a mere slap on the wrist.

A ‘stamp of approval’

The FAA has been “scaling back obstacles for Boeing to deliver some of its newly produced aircraft to customers, a hopeful sign for the plane maker’s recovery,” said The Wall Street Journal. This includes allowing Boeing to “perform final safety checks on its 737 Max jets,” which the FAA had previously prohibited the company from doing itself following a string of accidents.

Boeing will be allowed to do the same with its 787 Dreamliner jets, and these airworthiness certifications “serve as a stamp of approval affirming that each new plane is designed to approved specifications and is safe to fly,” said The New York Times.

Boeing is clearly “winning more confidence from its regulator after years of safety and manufacturing crises,” said CNBC. The FAA’s decision to ease Boeing’s “regulatory burden is a sign that government officials are satisfied with the company’s progress on improving its manufacturing process,” said the Journal.

‘Too much leeway’

Not everyone is convinced that the FAA’s oversight of Boeing is strict enough. Boeing “got into trouble in the first place because it was given too much leeway on certifying its own work and ended up deceiving authorities,” said Bloomberg. The FAA has said allowing Boeing to certify its own planes is necessary to free up federal regulators, but with a Trump administration “focused on shrinking the federal workforce and cutting regulation, there’s a danger this may again go too far.”

Critics have also suggested the FAA’s penalties to Boeing are not aggressive enough given the company’s wealth. The agency’s proposed $3.1 million fine is “little more than a rounding error for Boeing,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said in a letter to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. For Boeing, a fine of this amount is “easily absorbed as the cost of doing business, not a meaningful deterrent to dangerous behavior.” Unless fines “rise to the level that forces the company to invest in real safety reforms, the risks to the flying public will persist.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/questions-abound-over-faa-management-195252042.html

Congress just created a new reason to worry about air travel

Yet another concern for air safety: the understaffed employees who will work without pay.

The government shutdown adds yet another source of stress for the nation’s already overburdened aviation system — including the more than 10,000 air traffic controllers who are already enduring long hours, chronically short staffing and the trauma of January’s mass-fatality crash in Washington.

Controllers remain at work despite the lapse in funding that began early Wednesday — much like the airport baggage screeners, military service members and other federal employees whose jobs are classified as essential. So air travel will continue as normal.

But they’ll be working without pay until Congress reaches a deal to reopen the coffers. And that means controllers who sometimes spend up to 60 hours a week managing the safety of the American skies will also face new worries about how to pay the bills.

“During the last government shutdown, when it was for 35 days, your air traffic controllers were out driving Uber on the side so that way they can make sure they can pay for the insulin for their sick sister,” said Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association union, during a Sept. 10 event in Chicago. “They were out, going out and trying to find any kind of job in their off-hours to just bring in some type of revenue.”

Years of strain on the nation’s aviation system, and the rush to course-correct after the January crash, have prompted a Trump administration push to “supercharge” controller hiring and address aging technology at the Federal Aviation Administration. A three-day hearing into the causes of the midair collision in Washington earlier this year revealed a caustic mix of forces eroding aviation safety, including equipment issues, increasingly busy skies — and overworked controllers.

At a POLITICO event Tuesday, hours before the funding lapsed, Deputy Transportation Secretary Steven Bradbury called the controllers “great Americans” who will remain “highly professional” regardless of the drama on Capitol Hill.

“I wouldn’t suggest there’s reason to fear for the traveling public,” Bradbury said.

But the shutdown is poised to only worsen longstanding issues for controllers, and it could prompt some of them to take action. A brief, unofficial sickout at one large air traffic control facility was widely credited with helping end the last prolonged shutdown, which lasted 35 days in 2018 and 2019 during President Donald Trump’s first term.

After a morning that January during which several controllers at the facility near Washington called out sick, flight delays along the East Coast began to stack up and quickly cascaded to Atlanta and beyond.

“Do we have your attention now, Leader [Mitch] McConnell? All lawmakers?” said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, at the time. “Open the government and then get back to the business of democracy to discuss whatever issue you so choose. This shutdown must end immediately.”

By that evening, Trump and other leaders called the shutdown off.

The U.S. Travel Association, a business trade group, has warned that a shutdown will cause a $1 billion hit each week to various industries, including airlines, hotels and more.

The newest lapse in appropriations comes after multiple warnings that Congress’ dysfunction has worsened the problems plaguing the U.S. aviation system. A 2023 independent expert review ordered by the FAA said a string of stopgap funding and government shutdowns has “resulted in the disruption of critical activities,” including by causing flight delays and hampering modernization efforts.

“This situation makes it extremely difficult for the FAA to effectively conduct long-term business planning and execution,” the report added.

Classes at the FAA Academy, the entry-level training venue for air traffic controllers, will continue. Field training and hiring for controllers also won’t be interrupted, which is a change compared with a Transportation Department contingency plan from March. Secretary Sean Duffy has prioritized boosting the ranks of controllers following the Jan. 29 crash between a PSA Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter above the Potomac River, which killed 67 people in the nation’s deadliest aviation disaster in more than two decades.

According to the latest shutdown contingency plan for DOT, roughly 12,000 department employees will be furloughed, the vast majority of which are at the FAA. But no controllers will be furloughed.

In the wake of the previous 35-day shutdown, the then-chair of the House Transportation Committee suggested he was considering a bill that would allow the FAA to continue operating as normal during a lapse in funding. But Congress did not enact legislation to that effect.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/02/air-travel-shutdown-00590413

Pilot crisis looms as airlines scramble to fill cockpits

Many airlines worldwide are struggling to fill their cockpits with experienced pilots as demand for air travel grows. Can signing bonuses and fast-track promotions make up for a massive retirement wave?

Flying is just not what it used to be. Long lines to go through security, cyberattacks on airport check-in systems, labor strikes, lost bags and cancellations. Now on top of all that, there is a global shortage of pilots and airlines are feeling the pinch.

During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, pilot training was put on hold in many places as companies waited to see what the pandemic would do to the travel industry. Today, as air travel rebounds, there is a training backlog, and schools are struggling to get new pilots in the air.

At the same time, the pandemic inspired many senior pilots to unexpectedly retire early. More are waiting to hang up their wings, particularly in North America.

This leaves airlines with the double challenge of compensating for a wave of retirements and finding more pilots amid increasing demand for air travel, particularly leisure travel.

How many pilots are needed?

The current growth in air travel has surprised many airlines, said Christoph Klingenberg, an expert in airline and airport management at Worms University of Applied Sciences in Germany.

"Since it takes several years to train pilots, the situation will take a couple of years to normalize," Klingenberg told DW.

How many pilots will be needed varies greatly depending on the source.

The US alone will have about 18,200 job openings for airline and commercial pilots each year for the next decade, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. Added together, that comes to over 180,000 new US-based pilot jobs.

Taking both passenger and freight into account, planemaker Boeing recently estimated that a whopping 660,000 new commercial pilots will be needed worldwide by 2044.

Becoming a pilot is a big investment

"Aspiring pilots who begin their training today will be well-positioned to seize emerging opportunities by the time they graduate," according to the Boeing report. To meet this huge demand, aspiring pilots must have access to "relevant, affordable and accessible training."

Although experienced pilots can earn a lot, getting into the cockpit is a long and expensive journey itself.

In the US, flight training can cost over $100,000 (€85,000), a daunting amount likely to discourage many from dreaming of an aviation job.

In addition to other certifications and ratings, the US Federal Aviation Administration requires all first officers at an airline providing scheduled passenger air service to have an Air Trasport Pilot (ATP) certificate. This means an additional 1,500 hours of flight experience, a requirement that can take another one to two years for pilots coming out of school to meet.

Just pay pilots more?

Recently, many major and regional airlines have increased pilot pay to attract more applications and keep the pilots they already have.

"The biggest way to make a commercial airline pilot job more attractive is to increase the pay," said Dan Bubb, a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, specializing in commercial aviation. "For many years, this was especially noticeable with regional airlines, where the pay was deplorably low."

"Today, pilot salaries are higher than I have seen in a long time," Bubb, who is also a former airline pilot, told DW.

Besides higher base salaries, some airlines are also offering bonuses and other perks to find and retain pilots. Others are designing better work-life-balanced schedules for flight crews. All costs that add to passenger ticket prices.

But not all companies are so generous. Just this week, Lufthansa pilots voted in favor of a strike after negotiations over pension contributions fell apart. So far, no strike date has been announced. It would be the first Lufthansa pilot strike since 2022.

Mandatory retirement at 60, 65 or 67?

Two decades ago, international airline pilots were forced to retire at 60, according to rules put in place by the International Civil Aviation Organization. The group, which is based in Montreal, Canada, and an agency of the United Nations, sets regulations for civil aviation in over 190 countries.

With advances in health the retirement age was raised to 65 in 2006. Pointing to pilot shortages and even higher health standards, now some are proposing raising the retirement age to 67.

"Flight experience, often associated with age, is significantly correlated with flight safety," wrote US Senator Ted Cruz in a September 19 letter to President Donald Trump looking for support in increasing the mandatory pilot retirement age.

"Having an 'arbitrary' retirement age is also making air travel more expensive!" added Cruz. "As you know, in economics, less supply necessarily leads to higher prices."

Whatever the economics behind it are, the idea has run into opposition from pilot unions. And, so far, both the Civil Aviation Organization and the Federal Aviation Administration have kept the current retirement age in place.

What else are airlines doing to lure pilots?

To keep the supply of new pilots flowing and those already in the air happy, airlines need to increase their hiring efforts, expand training facilities and recruit pilots from other noncommercial airlines, argues Christoph Klingenberg.

He also suspects raising the retirement age to 67 is "a step in the right direction."

Some airlines around the world are hiring pilots with considerably fewer hours under their belts, offering big signing bonuses and waiving certain requirements, said Bubb. Still, they, too, must undergo rigorous training and pass exams before they can take control of a plane's yoke.

More automation in the cockpit?

Could artificial intelligence (AI) or increased automation in the cockpit make up for a lack of pilots?

While many industries are latching onto the idea of using AI to streamline work, airlines are holding back for now in the cockpit, said Klingenberg, and doesn't expect that to change much in the coming decades.

AI will play a significant role but not replace pilots, said Bubb. "I have no doubt that AI will make air travel more efficient, in terms of time and fuel burn, but not replace humans," he said.

As for getting more live pilots in the air, it really depends on how many are needed as the demand for air travel increases. "I expect the situation to improve after 2030, so it might take five years to recover," concluded Klingenberg.

Bubb thinks the shortage situation will "remain moderate" and spots a chance for the industry.

"It is an opportunity for airlines to plan ahead so that they are proactive instead of being reactive whenever there is a shortage of pilots looming," he added.

https://www.dw.com/en/pilot-crisis-looms-as-airlines-scramble-to-fill-cockpits-worldwide/a-74195149

EU study warns precarious aircrew contracts undermine aviation safety

Statistics & Trends

A new EU-funded study reveals that insecure employment among pilots and cabin crew undermines safety culture in aviation, with fatigue, stress, and contractual loopholes spreading across all airline types.

BRUSSELS / GHENT – A new EU-funded study has raised concerns about how insecure employment conditions for pilots and cabin crew are eroding the safety culture in European aviation.

The report, “UGent 2.0 – Evolving Social Challenges for Aircrew and the Need for Regulatory Response”, was produced by Ghent University with support from the European Commission and draws on responses from thousands of aircrew across more than 100 airlines in 2024. It follows up on the university’s 2015 study, which first documented the rise of “atypical” pilot contracts.

Key findings

The study found that 10.3% of aircrew in Europe are employed under atypical arrangements, including 5.8% who are self-employed, with concentrations in low-cost and wet-leasing carriers. These workers face:

Greater job insecurity and weaker union protection.
Reduced willingness to report fatigue and safety risks.
Over 40% reporting that their contract influences safety-critical decisions.
Between 35–45% avoiding reporting health or fatigue concerns out of career fears.
More than 10% admitting they do not report safety incidents at all.
The challenges are no longer limited to atypical workers. Even permanently employed crew at legacy airlines report higher stress from scheduling, fatigue, and mental health pressures. For the first time, cabin crew were included in the survey, showing particular vulnerability, while younger staff reported the highest stress levels and weakest support structures.

Structural and legal gaps

The study highlights regulatory loopholes in EU law, particularly regarding home base rules. Over 10% of respondents – in some cases more than a third – reported that their official home base on paper did not match their actual operational reality, raising concerns over tax, social security, and employment law compliance.

Crews in Eastern Europe reported weaker safety cultures, while wet-leasing operators, despite employing a smaller share of the workforce, accounted for nearly a third of the most serious contractual inconsistencies.

Also read → New study: Aviation not “hard to abate,” could cut 90% of additional warming by 2050

Calls for EU action

At the report’s presentation in Ghent, Prof. Dr. Yves Jorens stressed: “Labour conditions are no longer just a social issue – they have an impact on safety, well-being, and fatigue that are all interrelated! Without fair and stable employment, we cannot sustain a safe and resilient European aviation sector.”

The authors urge EU institutions to:

Strengthen employment protections.

Enforce home base rules more strictly.

Integrate crew well-being into safety management systems.

Improve collective representation to ensure all crew have a voice.

With the European Commission currently reviewing Regulation (EC) 1008/2008 (Air Services Regulation), the study suggests this is a critical opportunity to address flaws, including clarifying definitions of home and operational bases.

The UGent 2.0 study was carried out with the European Cockpit Association (ECA), the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), and the European Network Airlines Association (ENAA).

For aviation stakeholders, the findings highlight that employment models are directly linked to flight safety, making regulatory reform and stronger protections a priority for the industry’s long-term resilience.

https://www.traveldailynews.com/statistics-trends/eu-study-warns-precarious-aircrew-contracts-undermine-aviation-safety/

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

. 2025 NBAA Single-Pilot Safety Standdown; Monday, Oct. 13 | 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.; Las Vegas, NV

. 2025 NBAA National Safety Forum, Tuesday, Oct. 14 – Wednesday, Oct. 15; Las Vegas, NV

. Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC™) - 2025 – October 27-29th (Omaha, Nebraska)

. 78TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL AVIATION SAFETY SUMMIT (IASS) - Lisbon, November 4–6

29th annual Bombardier Safety Standdown, November 11-13, 2025; Wichita, Kansas

· CHC Safety & Quality Summit, 11th – 13th November 2025, Vancouver, BC Canada

. 2026 ACSF Safety Symposium; April 7-9, 2026; ERAU Daytona Beach, FL

. 2026 NBAA Maintenance Conference; May 5-7, 2026; New Orleans, LA

. BASS 2026 - 71st Business Aviation Safety Summit - May 5-6, 2026 | Provo, Utah

. The African Aviation Safety & Operations Summit - May 19-20 | Johannesburg, South Africa

. Safeskies Australia - Australia’s renowned Aviation Safety Conference - Canberra Australia 20 and 21 May 2026

. 2026 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE)

Oct. 20-22, 2026 | Las Vegas, NV

TODAY'S PHOTO

Photo Courtesy: Jay Selman

www.jaybirdaviationphotos.com