Brussels, 04/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - With the proposal on limiting flight time due to be put to the vote at the European Parliament plenary session on Wednesday 9 October, the Commission wants set the record straight with regard to the stories that are doing the rounds, said the spokesperson for Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas. The Commission has launched a campaign to save its draft regulation.
The parliamentary transport committee (TRAN) may, in line with the comitology procedure, have rejected the proposals on the table but it is by no means certain that the plenary session will vote in the same way. The Greens/EFA and the GUE, which put down the motion for rejection that was adopted by the TRAN committee on Monday 30 September, will vote for rejection. The Socialists are divided on the issue, with their French and German members possibly voting down the proposed text. The Christian Democrats, the Liberals and the Conservatives, on the other hand, are likely to vote, with only one or two exceptions, for the rules setting flight time limits. The commissioner's spokesperson, Helen Kearns, was keen that the issue should not become a political football.
Though only a few days remain before the proposal is put to MEPs, the Commission is looking to become involved in order to counter those who claim to represent the pilots. Kallas will give MEPs explanations and details during the debate on Tuesday 8 October, the day before the vote. He will seek to give reassurances that collective agreements will not be weakened by the proposal.
The Commission is also keen to refute some of the fabrications put about by the unions and pilots, such as, it is only after being awake for 22 hours that a pilot will not be allowed to land a plane, a 16-hour cap having been set for a combined period of stand-by and flying time. It also attacks the pilots' argument over the scientific evidence that recommend a maximum ten-hour flying time for night flights. The Commission is proposing a maximum flight time of eleven hours, lower than in most member states. In general terms, it points out that the proposed new European rules are safer than most of the national rules currently in force.
If Parliament rejects the Commission proposal, current rules will continue to apply. The Commission could draft new rules but it would take around three years to complete the assessment and consultation procedure in conjunction with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). A source close to the matter has said that this prospect had not even been considered by the Commission at this stage, and certainly not during this term of office. (MD/transl.fl)