Airspace congestion jeopardises safety

Airspace congestion puts safety at risk Keystone-SDA

Flight safety is reduced by airspace congestion, says Thomas Steffen, a pilot with Swiss International Air Lines and head of safety at Aeropers, the industry association

n an interview published today by Tamedia newspapers, the expert denounces safety shortcomings, especially in the United States.

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Less stringent safety standards in the US are nothing new. However, with the increase in air traffic, the issue of safety is becoming more urgent. US airspace is much more heavily used than European airspace, Steffen points out. In addition, air traffic controllers and meteorologists have recently been laid off. Staff are overworked and in some cases conditions are chaotic.

When asked about the current high number of plane crashes, Steffen shares with the journalist interviewing him the impression that there are more frequent incidents. However, this data must be considered in relation to the number of flights, he adds.

For the expert, flying today is fundamentally safe. In the past, he would have expressed himself in more absolute terms, namely that flying is safe. In his view, the series of plane crashes “is a sign that the system is overloaded.”

Aeropers “absolutely” supports climate policy efforts. Pilots have always paid attention to fuel consumption. However, this aspect could also become relevant for safety. The fact that planes taxi on the runway with only one engine may make sense, but it increases the workload: some colleagues are under pressure to constantly save kerosene.

For Steffen, this raises the question of how passengers can contribute to safety. If you fly round-trip to destinations across Europe for 100 francs, you should consider whether the price is sufficient for proper aircraft maintenance, crew training, mechanics and ground staff, proper working conditions, and the air traffic control system.

Adapted from Italian by DeepL/ds

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