Politico Europe: EU regulator backs away from allowing lone pilots to fly airliners
Airlines want to cut the number of pilots to save money, while unions are opposed. The EU Aviation Safety Agency is in the middle.
Comment by Capt. Tanja Harter, ECA President:
"When we talk about Single Pilot flights, there are several "buckets of concerns". First, flying with just one pilot in the cockpit is a safety gamble – plain and simple. This is a move driven by commercial interests from manufacturers and airlines, putting cost-cutting above passenger safety. One pilot means less safety, less security. Full stop.
The second bucket is the relentless pressure from manufacturers like Airbus, Dassault, airlines and avionics companies such as Thales, Honeywell and others. Their lobbying, fast-tracking timelines, and pushing at ICAO and EASA levels, raise serious questions about whose interests this rush truly serves.
Then there’s EASA itself, the third bucket of concerns. Under its previous leadership, as the article mentions, the agency leaned worryingly towards ‘enabling’ single pilot flying, aligning too closely with industry players.
However, reading the European Plan for Aviation Safety (EPAS) 2025, the third bucket feels slightly less full.
For example, in the related Rulemaking Task (RMT .0739) EASA plans to assess whether the new technologies proposed by manufacturers genuinely enhance the overall safety level, rather than simply maintaining it. But the operational concept of flying with only one pilot during cruise is still alive and explicitly mentioned in the EPAS.
We do welcome the focus on looking into the introduction of safety enhancements, including advanced flight deck technologies, but we remain adamant that this must be done in view of always retaining two pilots on the flight deck. Whether this is a genuine course correction by EASA, or just a nod to public concerns, the jury’s still out.
Bottom line? Manufacturers and certain airlines will keep pushing, but regulators must stay laser-focused on safety. That’s the only way to ensure passengers aren’t put at unnecessary and avoidable risk."
