Strasbourg, 19/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - With adoption of the report by Brian Simpson (Labour, UK), the European Parliament called on the European Commission to come forward by 1 July with a legislative proposal limiting flight and duty time and prescriptions on matters of rest periods for crews and cabin staff, should the negotiations under way between the social partners not be brought to a successful conclusion by 1 May 2001.
Parliament stated its view at first reading on the European regulation harmonising technical rules and administrative procedures in the field of civil aviation, rules that apply, among other areas, to the security training of cabin staff. By giving the social partners and the Commission a deadline, the EP reserves the possibility of incorporating, at second reading, prescriptions on flight time in the draft regulation. For rapporteur Brian Simpson, the question of flight time is at the heart of the problem of safety aboard aircraft, although it is not directly the subject of the regulation. Parliament does not state its view on the more technical aspects of the regulation which, according to the rapporteur, do not come within the competence of Members of the EP (see EUROPE of 8/9 January, page 11).
Members nonetheless adopted by a slim majority an amendment by the Committee on Transport specifying exactly which areas the chief steward must have studied to be appointed. They also added further detail to the definition of what the regulation means by "member of the cabin crew", a question that still gives rise to different views in the Transport Council, some Member States wishing to include therein certain group guides, for example. For Parliament, a crew member is an individual who is not a pilot and who "carries out, in the interest of passenger safety, tasks assigned by the operator or the commander on board". Members rejected by a close majority (244 to 221) amendments requesting more systematic consultation of staff.