Brussels, 04/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Cockpit Association (ECA) is drawing attention to the emergence of a practice that is dangerous for aviation safety. ECA claims that pilots are increasingly encouraged to consume as little fuel as possible, given the surge in oil prices, even if it means flying with limited fuel reserves. The association evokes the recent cases of three Ryanair flights to Madrid that were forced to make an emergency landing in Valencia at the end of July, as their fuel reserves had been exhausted after having been diverted from Madrid due to stormy weather conditions. The low-cost airline denies that passenger safety was at risk at any time but an investigation has been opened in Spain. In addition to this example, ECA states it had been alerted to the fact that a number of airlines were putting pressure on their pilots to fly with limited fuel reserves. The association considers that airlines prefer to ensure good profit margins even if it means jeopardising passenger safety. Consequently, it raises the question of the viability of safety standards established at European level. European regulations state that emergency landings may be requested when passenger aircraft approach a 30-minute fuel capacity. It leaves it up to the pilot, however, to judge how much additional fuel should be carried, in the light of anticipated heavy traffic or weather delays at destination airports for example. The ECA therefore wonders whether these standards are indeed sufficient to ensure aviation safety. (MD/transl.jl)