Hello EM
Weather down here is great, save for a bit of a drop in the temp.
What you say about everyone wanting safety is true and I agree with you. The problem is EM, that most airlines don't have a scheme for 'adequate' training of their ops staff and the standard of training varies considerably. Voluntarily hasn't ever worked in the UK, a very few airlines have paid for some of their ops bods to go on the FAA licence courses most others have done nothing.
Cıty & Guilds (Avtech) has gone some of the way to fill the gap and NVQ's have never really hit the ops mark. Try recruiting a dozen or so experienced ops officers in the UK and you will find very few with any ops qualification whatsoever, many with a shallow technical knowledge of a complex subject matter with which they work every day.
The problem has been that the UK has never adopted ICAO 7192 D3, I think for fear it would lead to a license. Therefore, the level of training requıred for an operations officer who exercises operational control has never been defined, the CAA prefering to leave it to the airline to decide for themselves, and of course very few have. Check your nearest Part D for your ops officer training syllabus and see what you find, despite the recent JAROPS changes.
Your question
'So why do airlines need to be forced to do something which they are already doing voluntarily?'
Answer; Because many are not and won't otherwise.
European aviation is safe under the current arrangement without a FAR121 style dispatch system, I quite agree. However, safety doesn't stand still and we work continually to improve our systems and training standards. ICAO have seen fit to propose changes to the Annex 6 in the interests of enhanced flight safety and I for one support this proposal, based on my in depth knowledge of the job both under European and FAR systems.
Will adoption of the ICAO proposal leading to regulated training make European aviation safer? Personally, I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that it will make us even more safe than we are at present.
My first emphasis is on the contribution to flight safety trained and experienced operations officers/flight dispatchers can make. However, it does indeed make sound commercial sense and those who will make the decision whether or not to adopt this proposal should consider that point as a pro to supporting ICAO on this one.