Aircraft Engineers International (AEI) claims that some countries are ignoring European safety regulations and allowing airlines to operate aircraft without carrying out required safety checks.
Writing to European transport commissioner Violeta Bulc, AEI says airlines are failing to allow licensed engineers to physically inspect maintenance work carried out by unlicensed mechanics as required by the European Commission.
It says that national authorities in certain member states are allowing their state-run operators to ignore the requirement and instead only have engineers check that the mechanics have signed off on the work. AEI says this practice is cheaper and quicker for operators but falls short of important safety rules.
The group claims the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has acknowledged the problem, but attempts to enforce the regulations have failed.
AEI is calling on the European Union to strictly enforce its own regulations in order to protect the safety of passengers.
Ola Blomqvist, president of AEI, commented: “It is very worrying that the EU’s aviation safety agency is proving to be nothing more than a paper tiger. Without intervention of the European Commission, only an avoidable disaster will spur the authorities to comply.”
The full AEI letter and briefing document can be downloaded here.
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