WRITTEN QUESTION E-2769/00

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(1 September 2000)

Subject: Air accidents

Yesterday's Concorde aircraft air accident in Paris highlights the fact that in recent years we have been continuing to see a large number of air accidents, usually involving many deaths. A recent issue of the Financial Times made the point, with reference to a Boeing 737-200 flight in India, that many air accidents are chiefly due to the aircraft's age. In view of the high frequency of air accidents and the fact that most air companies' fleets in many Member States are composed of Boeing 737-200 aircraft, and the high degree of unease over the safety of flights, can the Commission say how it intends to intervene to bring about more effective and stricter aircraft safety measures, such as withdrawal on grounds of age, as is the case for ships in sea transportation, or fleet replacement and rigorous maintenance, something which is often given low priority because of cost-cutting efforts and competition?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(11 October 2000)

Air accident statistics published regularly by the International Civil Aviation Organisation confirm that air transport is one of the safest modes of transport and that levels of safety are even tending to improve inasmuch as, notwithstanding a considerable increase in the number of passengers carried, the number of airline accident victims has been constantly falling. Whereas in the course of the 1980s the average number of persons killed annually in commercial air transport accidents worldwide stood at 1 146, during the 1990s this average had fallen by more than 10 % to 1 015.

The figures for 1999 have been among the lowest ever recorded 512 fatalities. While it is certainly the case that the initial figures for the current year do not justify hopes that the figures for 2000 will be at a historically low level, neither do they provide any indication at this stage of a reversal in the trend.

Furthermore, the age of aircraft does not, in itself, appear to have been a significant cause of accidents. Regulatory measures have been taken by the aviation authorities to step up the technical monitoring of aircraft throughout the course of the ageing process. These measures are incorporated in the relevant Community legislation (Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91 of 16 December 1991 on the harmonisation of technical requirements and administrative procedures in the field of civil aviation(1)) and in the interview protocols governing interviews with airline companies. Consequently, measures involving the withdrawal of aircraft specifically on the grounds of age are not contemplated.

As regards the first-generation Boeing 737s referred to by the Honourable Member, it is worth stressing that 818 of the 1 107 aircraft supplied to airline companies around the world are still in service and have been involved in only 11 fatal accidents over the last 10 years. This represents a rate of one accident per 1,9 million flying hours.

Against this, the levels of fuel consumed by aircraft using outdated technology make them less attractive, and airline companies are tending to replace them with more efficient aircraft. Similarly, their noise levels are no longer acceptable in the developed countries on environmental grounds, and the Community has taken measures to prohibit their entry into the fleet and gradually phase them out. Accordingly, certain aircraft, such as the B 737-200, will no longer be allowed to operate in Europe from 1 April 2002, unless they have undergone modifications to improve their acoustic performance.

(1) OJ L 373, 31.12.1991.