'One Of The Most Important Aviation Safety Issues For Flight Crews In Canada'

ALPA publicized a statement this week accusing the management of Cargojet and the union representing its pilots, Unifor, of attempting to weaken the newly developed Canadian flight, duty, and air safety requirements.

In letters to Cargojet CEO Ajay Virmani and Unifor’s National President Jerry Dias, ALPA expressed concern over recent efforts to weaken the airline flight- and duty-time regulations, which they believe to be one of the most important aviation safety issues for flight crews in Canada.

“I am writing to express my dismay over what I understand is your support of a management-led effort to weaken hard-fought rest and safety rules designed to keep the skies—and our pilots—safe,” wrote Capt. Joe DePete (pictured below), ALPA president, to Dias.

“With four months of operating experience, we can say that our members have reported that these science-based rules, while not perfect, represent a significant improvement over the previous set of regulations in Canada. Any exemption, waiver, or weakening of them would undermine safety and be a slap in the face to those who fought so hard to have them enacted in the first place.”

For many years, ALPA claims that Canada’s flight- and duty-time regulations had been acknowledged by aviation industry experts as inadequate for ensuring that pilots are well-rested when they fly. In 2018, after years of advocacy from industry stakeholders including ALPA, the Air Canada Pilots Association, and Unifor, Transport Canada announced updated regulations based on a staggered implementation timeline.

Recently, ALPA reported that not only is Cargojet seeking exemptions to these newly implemented requirements, but also engaging in intimidating tactics to influence pilot support of this ill-advised plan.

“I am deeply troubled that Cargojet may be using the threat of layoffs and downgrades to convince pilots to support this plan that would weaken safety and put pilots at risk, this coming at a time when your airline has reported significant profits. The regulations in place today are the culmination of years of work and collaboration among all stakeholders in our industry,” said DePete to Virmani. 

It continues to be ALPA’s firm view that no 705 airline operators should be granted any fatigue exemption outside of already existing provisions. Capt. DePete requested Cargojet and Unifor to end efforts supporting exemptions immediately.

FMI: www.alpa.org/-/media/ALPA/Files/pdfs/news-events/letters/2021/0507-virmani.pdf?la=en, www.alpa.org/-/media/ALPA/Files/pdfs/news-events/letters/2021/0507-dias.pdf?la=en, www.alpa.org