OREANDA-NEWS. National daily De Volkskrant today published an article about collective labour negotiations at KLM. KLM has been in consultation with all the unions about a new collective labour agreement (CLA) since December 2014. The article addresses the issue of reducing the number of pilots from four to three on several routes. Depending on the aircraft type, flight duration, statutory duty & rest legislation and rotation schedules, KLM operates flights with two, three or four members of crew in the cockpit.

KLM’s announcement last week to implement and abide by EASA’s recommendation of operating flights with a minimum of two crew members in the cockpit at all times is entirely separate to these negotiations.

The safety of our passengers and crew members is always a top priority and KLM never makes concessions in terms of flight safety.All KLM pilots are screened on the basis of stringent selection criteria and trained according to worldwide standards that apply to all airlines, including those that relate to all psychological and physical aspects. In order to guarantee maximum flight safety, the skills of KLM pilots are continually tested during regular checks and recurrent training programmes. Additionally, KLM pilots follow high-quality communications and behavioural training programmes geared entirely to their position.