A personal message from ERA DG Montserrat Barriga

Updated 17 March: Dear ERA member,

The COVID-19 crisis is having an enormous unprecedented impact on our industry, much more than initially anticipated, and it may be an impossible burden for some to overcome.  

The ERA team have been part of vital lobbying initiatives including being part of the collective voice to suspend airport slots across Europe, which the European Commission has agreed to temporarily waive until the end of June. This is the very minimum the industry needs and if we are to successfully relieve airlines of this burden, an extension of this is needed for the full summer season.

This week we joined forces with A4E in sending an open letter to EU Transport Ministers to ensure the very survival of our industry and its economic recovery. A comprehensive package of measures is urgently required, whereby European airlines call on EU governments to co-ordinate their response, preserving the European aviation single market and its benefits in the long run.

As border closures in Europe continue to be announced, severe capacity constraints are being seen within the aviation industry. However, legislation, directives and guidance aimed at air passenger operations and the protection of air passengers on commercial flights, does not specifically exempt cargo flights and cargo flight crews. Cargo airlines are doing everything possible to keep supply chains open, including to countries in full or partial lockdown. The airlines though are facing significant problems with different attitudes and interpretations of directives and guidance by individual member states and National Supervisory Authorities. Action is therefore required from the European Commission, EASA and national governments to ensure exemption for cargo flights and flight crews from restrictions that have been introduced solely to protect commercial air passengers.

We have also encouraged regulators to recognise COVID-19 as an extraordinary circumstance as per Article 5(c) of Regulation 261/2004; therefore any related cancellations should be exempt from the obligation to compensate passengers. ERA has urged DG MOVE to follow the example of the UK regulator who did just that, providing an emergency, time-limited force majeure alleviation from passenger compensation.

Further to this, we are clearly facing a situation where the level of employee absence is likely to reach far above normal levels. Aircraft checks and training are undertaken across the industry by a relatively small group of individuals, such as Type Rating Examiners or Part 147 Engineering Training staff. Consequently, any infection or quarantine amongst those individuals has an exponential effect on the operator’s ability to conduct training and in light of this, ERA has urged EASA to temporarily extend the validity of all pilot, cabin crew and engineering proficiency and recurrent training items by three months. 

I wish to reassure all our members, that the ERA team and I continue to be committed to support all of you during these unprecedented times. We are here to help and to work jointly with our members and the industry to find a way forward and I invite any member to contact me directly as needed. I will be providing further direct updates to all members during the weeks to come.

Our sympathies are with those affected by COVID-19 and all of you that are persevering. Our thanks to our members who continue to support the association.