Union flags cabin crew staffing in wake of Alps crash
The union representing flight attendants says it supports Transport Canada’s emergency directive that orders two people to stay in the cockpit at all times, but says staffing ratios on planes should also be a priority.
“The flight deck policy is obviously needed,” said Michel Cournoyer, president of the airline division for the Canadian Union of Public Employees. “It’s the right move.”
When news broke this week that the pilot of the Germanwings plane that crashed in the Alps was locked out of the cockpit by the co-pilot, Canadian airlines like Air Canada and Air Transat swiftly moved to implement the two-person rule.
If a pilot needs to use the washroom, then another crew member, likely a flight attendant, would join the other pilot in the cockpit. On longer international flights, exceeding 11 hours and 30 minutes, there is a relief pilot on board.
That matches the rules U.S. carriers have used, though European airlines including Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, did not have procedures forbidding lone pilots. The European Aviation Safety Agency is also expected to adopt this rule.
But Cournoyer noted that Transport Canada has granted exemptions to staffing ratios to various airlines including Air Canada, WestJet Airlines and Air Transat to permit one flight attendant for every 50 passengers, instead of one flight attendant for every 40 passengers on narrow body planes.
That means on smaller Embraer aircraft where there used to be three flight attendants, there are now only two.
“If a pilot goes to take a bathroom break, for example, then we have just one single cabin crew in the cabin,” he said. “Throw in an on-board fire, a hostile passenger or a serious medical emergency or depressurization, any number of emergencies, then the consequences will be felt. Life can be lost.”
Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said in an email that it is “very disappointing and regrettable” that CUPE is using the Germanwings tragedy as part of an ongoing campaign to prevent Canadian carriers from adopting international safety standards.
“The policy of having one member of the cabin crew in the cockpit on occasion during the flight has no impact on the availability of our flight attendants in the event of an evacuation,” Fitzpatrick said.
He added Air Canada is satisfied that the 1:50 standard is absolutely safe, and used in Europe and the United States for many years.
Transport Canada first signalled it planned to change the rules back in 2013, when it granted WestJet the exemption on its Boeing 737 planes. WestJet said at the time the staffing change would bring a $30 million a year savings for company.
“On the one hand, they are reacting to this tragedy with a quick reaction to reassure Canadian passengers,” said Cournoyer. “On the other hand, with their safety exemptions, they are allowing Canadian airlines to fly with unmanned emergency exits” to boost corporate profits.
While the exemptions have only applied on narrow-body aircraft, Air Canada and Air Transat have both asked Transport Canada for the rule change on their wide-body aircraft.
“We are doing it to ensure we have flexibility and the ability to remain competitive,” said Air Canada’s Fitzpatrick in an email.
WestJet, which will soon be flying larger wide-body aircraft with Boeing 767s to Hawaii later this year and other international destinations next year, says it will stick with the 1 to 40 ratio on those planes.
Cournoyer supports the policy change to have two people in the cockpit at all times, saying it’s another level of safety.
“The (Germanwings) co-pilot might have been reluctant to try if somebody else was there. We will never know,” he said. “I think the flight attendant could have yelled, opened the door, or unlocked the mechanism.”
