Air traffic professionals say: aviation safety must come before airline profits

Prospect believes that safe, efficient air travel is vital to European economies, boosting productivity and creating jobs.

The best way to secure this is to invest in the staff, technology and infrastructure needed to improve airline performance and expand capacity, while maintaining and improving safety and security.

But the airlines seem to disagree. They think the key issue facing European air travel is industrial action. They have even set up a new lobby group – Airlines for Europe – to pressurise the EU into amending the European Aviation Safety Agency’s basic safety regulation so that it restricts the right to strike by requiring minimum service provision during industrial disputes.

It does not seem that Airlines for Europe’s aims are public safety or an enhanced passenger experience: they are trying to boost their profits.

Prospect and its European partners in the European Transport Workers’ Federation will campaign against Airlines for Europe’s plans to forego normal social dialogue and disregard the rights of tens of thousands of ATM workers in the industry in their quest for profit.

As part of our campaign against the A4E attack on ATM staff, Prospect has produced the leaflet illustrated here.