Time to Rethink!’ statement

9 aviation staff organisations – representing all categories of staff in our industry – issue a ‘Time to Rethink!’ statement, calling for a safe, social & sustainable recovery.

Our statement highlights Europe’s aviation staff organisations’ views, concerns & proposals regarding the COVID crisis & Europe’s recovery strategy for aviation. It calls for social & environmental sustainability, an end to precarious atypical employment & social engineering, for resilient ATM financing & staffing, for maintaining professional skills and highest safety levels, to name just a few. It considers aviation as a vital & critical infrastructure that needs support & priority attention. Crucially, it calls for a fundamental Rethink & Refocus in order to get our sector out of this crisis in a robust, lasting and socially viable manner. Business as usual is simply not an option !

We call upon the EC and your services to integrate this joint aviation staff perspective into the EU’s recovery strategy and the actions & regulatory initiatives undertaken by the Commission. We also invite the EC to consider this statement as part of our respective contributions to the development of the EU’s ‘Sustainable & Smart Mobility’ strategy, which will guide the EU’s actions over the coming years. In particular, the social dimension & concerns must be fully reflected in this strategy and the Commission’s initiatives. The COVID-19 crisis has a strong potential to deteriorate social conditions and to reward social mal-practices – something that must be countered by all means.