KARACHI: Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA) has offered its help to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Pakistan Airline Pilots Association (Palpa) to address safety and technical issues that are a major reason for restrictions on PIA's operations in the EU and US.

In a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan, President, ALPA, Capt. Joseph G. DePete, said the openness and desire to identify issues and implement remedies to restore the good name of Pakistan within the aviation industry is appreciable.

ALPA is the largest airline pilot union in the world with over 63,000 members in 34 US and Canadian airlines, which is referred to in North America as "conscience of the industry" with 85 years of experience in improving the aviation safety.

"We have seen tremendous success in working with Civil Aviation Authorities and airlines in the development of Safety Management Systems (SMS) and implementation of non-punitive safety reporting systems. Implementing these safety objectives will demonstrate Pakistan's ability to make meaningful changes which will allow Pakistan International Airlines to resume operations to the United States and Europe," he added.

It is pertinent to mention that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has suspended all European operations of PIA as of July 1, 2020. This suspension is in effect for six months and they will not be reinstated until PIA can demonstrate compliance with EASA safety management.

In another letter to President Palpa, Captain Chaudhary Salman, he said ALPA, as a member of IFALPA, can coordinate with IFALPA to provide support in delivering information and briefings on SMS and Fatigue Risk Management Programs (FRMP) implementation, non-punitive reporting programs, as well as best practices that we have identified in these areas."

While expressing gratitude, Capt. Ch. Salman President, PALPA said that

non-punitive reporting by frontline employees is critical to the success of any SMS program. To fully understand the risks in an airline and within the industry, frontline employees must be empowered and have confidence that no retribution will be taken against them for filing a safety report and identifying a safety issue.

"It is our experience that approximately 90% of the reports received from flight crew members are "sole source" reports on issues we would not ever know about except through that crew report," he said, adding that there must be a feedback loop to ensure these employees see that their reporting is making a difference.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020