18/06/2002

Budget airline safety called into question

A new safety report has revealed that pilots working for a number of low-cost airlines have been accused of disobeying instructions from air traffic controllers.

According to the report, some pilots have reacted aggressively to instructions from air traffic controllers that could affect flight times.

However, the main budget airlines operating in the UK, such as Go and Ryanair, have angrily refuted the claims saying safety and security were their main priority.

The complaint was made to the UK Confidential Human Factors Incident Reporting Programme, known as CHIRP, and follows safety fears raised recently over air traffic controllers' workloads.

Staff at the UK's main control centre in Swanwick, Hampshire complained that safety could be compromised because they were too busy.

Another study unveiled recently also showed that employees were making more than twice as many official complaints about their workload than this time last year.

(MB)

Related Northern Ireland Business News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

23 January 2002
HSENI focus on construction safety measures
The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) has embarked on a week-long province-wide inspection initiative to determine the extent of safety measures used on industrial roofing projects.
05 November 2001
BA losses prompt doubts about future performance
British Airways has announced a 25 per cent fall in traffic in October, prompting speculation about the financial future of the company, which is currently Europe's largest airline.
17 February 2005
TUC urges protection for safety whistleblowers
Hundreds of workers are sacked each year for refusing to work in unsafe offices and factories, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has claimed. An article in the spring edition of the health and safety magazine, ‘Hazards’, stated that, since 1999, 1,500 'whistleblowers' had been sacked from their jobs after raising safety concerns with their employers.
10 November 2003
H&S software to reduce training costs
Leading health, safety and environment consultancy Sypol, has launched ‘Personal Safety Advisor’ (PSA), the latest software package in health and safety advice to the business sector in Northern Ireland. Following attendance at health and safety training courses, PSA drip-feeds a range of information to attendees’ desktops.
04 September 2003
Construction companies fined for health & safety incidents
Two Co Antrim construction firms have been prosecuted for breaches of health and safety legislation, which in one case, almost led to the deaths of two workers on a building site.