Brussels, 30/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - During the debate on Tuesday 30 June on the ramifications of the Germanwings plane crash, MEPs made several calls for the recommendations by the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) that are expected to be formulated next month, to be made compulsory.
Several MEPs, including Luis de Grandes Pascual (EPP, Spain), called for legislative projects to be put forward by the European Commission in the long term, on the basis of the future EASA recommendations. The official in charge from the Commission unit responsible for aviation safety, Filip Cornelius, replied “certain projects can be the subject of legislative acts but this should not always be the case”. He explained that “recommendations can be followed and promoted among the airlines. For example, the 'four eyes principle' (according to which a member of the personnel should be present when one of the two pilots leaves the cockpit, Ed) in the US is applied by airlines on a voluntary basis”. The Executive Director of the EASA, Patrick Ky, explained, “sometimes, a legislative act can create more problems than it solves” and pointed out that in some aeroplanes, the cockpit is so small that the personnel responsible for surveillance would have to take the place of the pilot who has temporarily left and this in itself could create potential security risks.
In essence, the report the European agency is examining, focuses on two main points: the question of reinforced cockpit doors - a mechanism that had been decided on following the attacks on 11 September 2001 - particularly the internal manual closing device and the question of medical follow-up for pilots, which raises serious concerns in the ethical arena with regard to medical secrecy. The EASA director provided assurances that “we will never be able to make doctors provide information about their patients to the national authorities or employers”. The whole question resides on the issue of enhancing cooperation between the sector and the medical authorities at a European level and on the way in which crucial information is shared more efficiently when this involves passenger safety, explained the latter.
EASA is expected to publish its recommendations on 16 July next. (Pascal Hansens)