Of course passing the exams from question banks is unsatisfactory. I think the point that Paco makes further up this thread is that the existence and widespread use of the question banks derives directly from the incompetence of EASA and their predecessors. If the exams contained questions that were all written (i) in comprehensible english (ii) to properly defined learning objectives (iii) with only one correct answer and (iv) with clearly defined reference material there would be no need for them. As an example the answer to the question above is being debated by four very experienced subject experts and we cannot agree, it could be (b) or (d). We only seem to know which answer is marked correct by looking at students' scores in exams. How is a (presumably less experienced) candidate to know which answer is correct unless he/she has seen the question before and been told which one to go for? For the record I would have chosen (d), and apparently been 'wrong'.
As to who will be disadvantaged... as you say we will get our heads around the new questions in a few months and of course revise our teaching material to address the new questions. The only people who will be disadvantaged will be the candidates who take the exams in the few months after the changes, and these are candidates who have been correctly taught to the existing LOs, not necessarily just people who have been hammering the question bank. Our point is that this is unfair and unnecessary - Keith makes the very valid point that these changes could be fed in slowly. Once again EASA has presented us with exams that are not fit for purpose, and where is the accountability? Would this be acceptable in GCSEs? or A-levels? or in the bar exam?