Air Line Pilots Association President claims for coherent safety protocols

The airline industry has been one of the sectors most affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The plans that try to standardize the most important services in the country include the re-establishment of commercial flights but this requires guarantees that may preserve the safety of both airline personnel and users.

This emphasis on security is a serious concern for the President of the Air Line Pilots Association Capt. Joe Depete who asks airlines to adopt safety protocols before resuming their activities.

The head of the nation’s largest pilot union said on a CBSPhilly interview that so far has over 300 pilots tested for the coronavirus and there have been three deaths.

“We believe we’re testing about the average right now, we have deep concerns about that,” Depete said.

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The Air Line Pilots Association is following a set of guidelines issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which are basically guidelines from the CDC, on how to handle the pandemic.

Depete says there needs to be a mandated standardized approach for all airlines to follow.

“Some airlines really do a good job, some airlines do not do such a great job,” Depete said. “The virus doesn’t care whether you did a good job in one area and have a gaping hole in the other. We need a mandated standardized approach to dealing with the COVID crisis.”

His request focuses on the need for a coherent body of measures that can ensure the success of the security protocols.

“What we need is the FAA do their job. It makes no sense when dealing with a pandemic, to have a varying patchwork of compliances.”

This includes a regulation for the use of protective equipment, the administration of coronavirus testing and regular cleaning and disinfection of aircraft.

He said that many of the measures to be implemented could have been enforced earlier to prevent the spread of the virus. He also claimed for leadership in the midst of the crisis since the current situation cannot be addressed without coherent lines of action.