Dear Members,

the insolvency of LGW has once again made it clear to all of us: The situation of aviation is very serious! Our thoughts are with our colleagues at LGW and we will support them in every possible way. Together we will find ways through this crisis!

In order to emphasise the urgency of our situation to politicians and the public, we have launched a petition together with Verdi for the employees in the aviation industry. We invite everyone affected to sign it so that we can generate as much attention and impact as possible.

You will also find the following topics in these waypoints:

  • Short-time working compensation (Kurzarbeitergeld) will be increased
  • Guidance for operations at airports congested with parked aircraft
  • Support and help for personal and professional problems
  • ICAO Quick Reference Guides for temporary alleviations from Standards


Information and data sources on the Corona virus can be found on our Website. This overview is updated regularly.

We also publish current news on our social media channels on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. We wish you an interesting read.

Sincerely yours,
Markus Wahl, VC Executive Board and Team

Sign our petition for job and income preservation

Together with the trade union Verdi, we have launched a petition for air transport employees. Our appeal to the Federal Government: Preserve all jobs and income in the face of upcoming state aid worth billions. State support must protect everyone!

Support our petition and sign here:

www.policat.org/p/9112 (English)

schutz.vcockpit.de (German)

Please forward this link to as many friends and acquaintances as possible who also work in aviation. Now we are all asked to stand together and get involved. Together we have the chance to save many jobs at airlines, airports and service providers!

The technical implementation is done together with Verdi, so you will receive a confirmation email from Verdi and the service provider policat.org. Important: You have to confirm your participation in the petition via the link in the mail so that your signature can be counted.

Coalition committee decides to increase short-time working compensation (Kurzarbeitergeld)

On 22 April, the coalition committee agreed on changes to the short-time work compensation (Kurzarbeitergeld). These must now be implemented in legislation in order to come into force. Here are the most important points from the coalition partners' agreement:

Additional income opportunities
"For employees in short-time work, the existing additional income possibilities with an additional income limit up to the full amount of the previous monthly income will be opened for all professions from 1 May to 31 December 2020."

Increase in short-time working compensation depending on the duration of entitlement
"The short-time compensation will be increased for those who receive Corona short-time compensation for their working hours reduced by at least 50 percent, from the 4th month of receipt to 70 percent (or 77 percent for households with children) and from the 7th month of receipt to 80 percent (or 87 percent for households with children) of the lump-sum net remuneration, at the latest until 31 December 2020."

Extension of the receipt of unemployment benefit
"Due to the exceptional situation on the labour market, those who were already looking for work before the crisis and were receiving unemployment benefits under the SGB III currently have less chance of finding new employment. In addition, the placement and further training opportunities offered by the employment agencies are limited due to health protection. For this reason, unemployment benefit under the SGB III is extended by 3 months for those whose entitlement would end between 1 May and 31 December 2020."

LGW is insolvent

We were dismayed to note the filing of insolvency proceedings under self-administration of Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter (LGW). Naturally, we now support our members at LGW in all labour law issues relating to the insolvency and continue to attempt to find and develop prospects for their future.

Due to the loss of the Eurowings-wet lease as a result of the Corona crisis, the airline's management no longer saw itself in a position to maintain business operations. Eurowings had been LGW's sole client for a long time and cancelled its wet lease contract in the context of the Corona pandemic. After the Lufthansa subsidiary withdrew, the path to insolvency was inevitable.

Our press release on the LGW Insolvency can be found here.

FAA recommendations for operations at airports congested by parking aircraft

Many airports are currently congested with parked aircraft in excess of airport capacity. As this exceptional condition can have an impact on flight safety, FAA has published a Safety Alert For Operators (SAFO), which addresses various safety-relevant factors for flight operations, airport operators and cockpit crews.

For instance, airport operators are warned of an increased risk of runway incursions as a result of parking aircraft on runways and advised against such practice. For cockpit crews, the most important points include:

  • A thorough NOTAM review for each flight. Airport conditions will differ and each should be known and fully understood prior to departure.
  • Pilots should be particularly alert to potential unexpected circumstances resulting from non-standard operations and should report all unusual circumstances or events that differ from published expectations.
  • The possibility of ILS presentations, fluctuations or inaccuracy should be anticipated.
  • Communication between flight crew and air traffic control (ATC) entities should be positive and clear. If uncertainty exists, a go-around if airborne or stopping the aircraft on the ground should be considered.
  • With normal ground operations flow disrupted flight crew should consider the entire airport to be a "hot spot".
  • All pilots should exercise particular care during night or reduced visibility conditions

Since huge amounts of aircraft are also parked at airports outside the FAA's area of responsibility, these recommendations are also a good basis for us to minimize risks at fully parked airports.

The entire SAFO "Temporary Parking of Overflow Aircraft" can be found in the FAA SAFO overview or directly here as pdf-file.

Flight Safety Foundation – An Aviation Professional’s Guide to Wellbeing

The Covid-19 pandemic includes a variety of challenges potentially affecting flight safety. One contributing factor directly related to safety performance is the wellbeing of everyone involved in our flight operations.

Even though we are trained to manage risks and hazards, one question certainly arises – how can we manage something that we cannot measure or even see? In its Aviation Professional’s Guide to Wellbeing the Flight Safety Foundation provides guidelines on how to manage the current risk and how to improve our wellbeing.

ICAO Quick Reference Guides for temporary alleviations from Standards

On 16 and 17 April 2020, ICAO has released Quick Reference Guides (QRGs) for the temporary alleviation from ICAO Annex 6 standards that might be under consideration by states. The QRGs have been developed by Subject Matter Experts from member states, the industry and IFALPA and include

  • Flight Crew Training Programmes
  • Recent Experience Requirements
  • Flight and Duty Time Limitations.

ICAO emphasises that all alleviations should be established using the Safety Risk Management approach and e.g. explicitly states that approved variations to existing Flight and Duty Time Limitations shall provide a level of safety equivalent to, or better than, that achieved through the prescriptive fatigue management regulation.

The relevant Quick Reference Guides provide information about the related ICAO standard, the problem identified, applicability, operational context and possible risk mitigation measures.

ICAO thus reacts to already implemented temporary alleviations to national regulations in line with article 38 of the Chicago Convention in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Covid-19 NOTAM Summary

Eurocontrol provides an overview of Covid-19 related NOTAMs in its Network Operations Portal (NOP). It can be found in the middle of the portal under Latest News at "COVID-19 NOTAM Summary - Updated".

The overview is updated daily and distinguishes between Pax Restrictions and Flight Restrictions.

New date for seminar "Safety relevant leadership behaviour for cockpit crews"

The educational leave seminar "Safety relevant leadership behaviour for cockpit crews" at the Sattelbergalm in Tyrol has been rescheduled from March to 23-27 November 2020 due to Covid-19. Participants will get practice-oriented, intensive training to improve their leadership and communications behaviour both within and outside of the cockpit. Special attention is paid to behaviour in crises.

The new seminar date is open for both registered and newly interested persons. VC seminar supervisor Flight Captain Ralf Nitsche (ralf.nitsche@vcockpit.de) and Karin Werner from the Flight Safety Secretariat (werner@vcockpit.de) provide further information for those who are interested in participating.

News from Associations, Organisations and Authorities

VC

ECA

  • ECA regularly presents a Wrap Up of Covid-19 issues, including actions taken by the European institutions, national developments and statements by relevant EU and international stakeholders:
    ECA Wrap Up 20 April
    ECA Wrap Up 16 April

IFALPA

ICAO

EASA

Love is in the Air

Maybe Icelandair flight 1725's crew was listening to the old song "Love is in the air" when arriving from Shanghai: Before approaching Keflavik airport they flew an extra turn over Iceland's capital Reykjavik drawing a heart shaped flight path on the Radar.

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