New EU study warns: precarious aircrew contracts pose safety risks

A pilot’s or cabin crew member’s employment contract should not be a safety risk – but too often, it still is. A new EU study warns that precarious working conditions in the sector are eroding both staff well-being and airline safety culture.

Ten years after Ghent University’s groundbreaking 2015 research revealed the rise of “atypical” pilot contracts, the study UGent 2.0 – Evolving Social Challenges for Aircrew and the Need for Regulatory Response shows that insecurity, fatigue, and stress are now widespread across the entire aviation workforce.

For this study, researchers surveyed thousands of pilots and cabin crew from over 100 airlines in 2024. On 26 September, Prof. Dr. Yves Jorens & Dr. Lien Valck revealed the results at the Conference “Aircrew cleared for take-off?”, in Ghent.

Prof. Dr. Yves Jorens stressed: “Labour conditions are no longer just a social issue – they directly affect safety, well-being, and fatigue. Without fair and stable employment, we cannot sustain a safe and resilient European aviation sector.”

Here are the top 5 alarming findings:

1. Job insecurity impacts on safety
   4 in 10 crew say their employment status influences whether they feel able to make critical safety decisions, such as declaring themselves unfit to fly. This shows how job insecurity can directly compromise aviation safety.

2. Fear keeps aircrew silent
   Up to 45% of aircrew admit they avoid reporting fatigue or health issues out of fear for their career. This “fear culture” undermines the reporting systems that aviation safety depends on.

3. Crew treated as a disposable asset
   78,3% of respondents (and even 88% amongst cabin crew) rate their airline’s attitude toward staff as negative. Many describe a sense of being treated as numbers rather than professionals, which erodes trust and weakens morale.

4. Fake home bases on the rise
   The report also points to ongoing loopholes in EU law. More than 1 in 10 aircrew personnel report that their official home base (according to their contract) does not align with their operational reality. This is an abusive practice by some airlines to circumvent social and employment rules, while paying lower taxes and social security contributions than they should pay for a worker based in a specific country. Beyond exposing workers to abuse, this is also an attack on fair competition between airlines.

5. East–West safety gap
   Aircrew based in Eastern Europe report weaker safety cultures, lower reporting rates, and more reluctance to flag fatigue compared to their Western colleagues. These regional disparities highlight uneven enforcement of EU labour and safety rules across the continent.

At ETF, we see this study is a wake-up call for the industry.

Aircrew working conditions have been under increasing pressure for decades, particularly degrading in the last few years. Cracks in the system have been widening as workers are pushed into exhaustion and unfair employment arrangements. We do not want to see one of these cracks break before regulators bring about change.

The revision of the Air Services Regulation, currently being drafted by the Commission, is an opportunity to start this change. We urgently need this Regulation to address the social sustainability of the sector.

Download the full study here: UGent 2.0 – Evolving Social Challenges for Aircrew and the Need for Regulatory Response

The UGent 2.0 study was conducted by Ghent University in cooperation with the European Cockpit Association (ECA), the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), and the European Network Airlines Association (ENAA), with funding from the European Commission.