"Many thanks for contacting me regarding your concerns over proposals to change Flight Time Limitation legislation, which was voted on by all MEPs on 9th October 2013.
Commenting on the European Parliament vote to approve common EU flight time limits for pilots, Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesman Phil Bennion MEP said:
"This is a sensible outcome. Despite concerns from pilots' unions, these rules will not lower safety standards in the UK. In fact, a common system for pilot flight times will raise standards in Europe across the board, ensuring that British passengers are safe no matter what EU airline they fly with."
The proposal harmonises at EU level a set of rules governing the maximum flight times and minimum rest periods keeping aviation safety as its main objective. The new rules reduce the maximum flight duty time at night from 11.45 hours to 11, the maximum number of flying hours per year from 1,300 to 1,000 and the maximum duty time (airport standby + flight) is capped to 16 hours, instead of the 26 or even 28 currently applying in certain EU Member States.
The claim from pilots' union BALPA that under the new rules pilots will have to land a plane after being awake for periods of up to 22 hours is untrue. In fact, crew members can spend a maximum of 16 hours on standby at home or in a hotel. After the first 6 hours, every additional hour on standby is deducted from the maximum flight time that can be performed afterwards. Thus, when a crew member is called out from standby at home to report for duty, the combination of standby and flight duty cannot realistically lead to a period of more than 18 consecutive hours awake, of which no more than 14 hours can be spent on board an aircraft. Currently pilots are granted two days or even less in some EU countries when crossing several time zones, while the Commission's text proposes up to five days.
I agree with Phil Bennion that we need rapid progress on this package. If it were not for this agreement, we would be stuck with the existing dogs' breakfast of 28 different sets of national rules. Applying common rules means less unnecessary red tape for airlines, fewer delays for passengers and a more efficient and environmentally sustainable aviation market.
I hope that this information is helpful to you."
It is a long time since I read something so misguided and considering that it came from a politician, that is really saying something.