News

The December Newsletter is now out, please note that the English version begins on page 15!
Have a happy holiday!
Newsletter

This week 8 Transport Ministers from across Europe signed a Joint Declaration calling for a socially responsible aviation. The Icelandic Airline Pilots’ Association, welcomes this display of ambition and determination. It is clear that we need action in order to ensure the safety, the rights of workers and a healthy competition within the aviation industry.

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal are joining forces in an attempt to move the European Commission and their fellow-Member States towards an ambitious COVID-19 aviation recovery guided by safety, fair & undistorted competition and social rights for employees.

The Declaration highlights that the COVID-19 crisis exposes some of the deep changes and dysfunctionalities of the aviation industry, built up over the years as a result of poor regulatory efforts: a staggering legal uncertainty on applicable labour, social security and tax law, an uneven playing field within Europe’s single aviation market, different levels of protection for workers, and inadequate rule-enforcement at national level.

All these pre-existing conditions – which according to the Ministers deserve ‘priority attention’ – risk impeding the industry’s recovery from the crisis.

See ECA's press release regarding the Joint Declaration here.

The October newsletter is now out, 24 pages of aviation material!Fréttabréf

Effective reporting is essential to the process of fatigue risk identification and the management of fatigue for safe operations. This Briefing from IFALPA provides guidance and best practices on reporting fatigue risk and the importance of reporting.

Six months into the COVID pandemic, the people who have dedicated their careers to aviation – pilots, cabin crew, engineers, controllers, ATM and AIS personnel – have an important message for European Transport Ministers, who meet on 28 Sept: Aviation and its strategic infrastructure, services and people deserve priority attention of European leaders!

Read the joint message here: COVID-19& AVIATION / Time to rethink!

During the lockdown in Europe, nearly all passenger flights were grounded, whilst cargo flights delivered essential medical goods. Those sober months of inactivity laid bare and reminded us of aviation’s raison d'être: to connect people and cultures, supply goods, keep our economies running, serve the public interest.

But the crisis also revealed deep structural weaknesses in our industry, created by years of cost-cutting, a generation of industry leaders fond of fueling a ‘race to the bottom’ and authorities struggling to catch up. If those weaknesses remain unaddressed post-COVID, the industry – and the people working therein – will have a hard time recovering and it will simply fail to complete its mission: to serve the public interest.

Returning to ‘business as usual’ after COVID is not an option.

FÍA's August newsletter is now out, with interesting articles and beautiful photographs from this summer. Click here Fréttabréf, then on "2020" and "Ágúst" to read the newsletter... also in English as per usual!

There are several interesting courses available this summer at the Continuing Education - University of Iceland (EHÍ), some held in English. The summer courses are a part of a government effort to create educational and job opportunities following the COVID-19 pandemic, supported by the Ministry of Education.

There are several courses that might appeal to pilots, and we would like to remind you that all FIA members can apply for a 85% refund due from the FIA Education and Training Fund.