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This week in Europe – Only one pilot? A dispute over cockpit crews
In this edition of State of the Union we focus on considerations by the EU aviation safety authority and some airlines to cut one pilot for cost reasons. The pilots are vehemently opposed to this.
The world has gotten used to nonsensical remarks by Donald Trump.
That’s why European leaders rarely comment on them, they usually hold their noses and move on.
But Trump’s suggestion during a campaign rally that the United States would not protect NATO allies who fail to spend enough on defense sparked a rare public backlash.
“Dangerous”, “unhinged”, “appalling” – those were some of the friendlier reactions.
Here’s the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell:
“NATO cannot be an ‘a la carte’ military alliance, it cannot be a military alliance that works depending on the humor of the president of the US on those days. It is not ‘yes, no, yes, tomorrow, no, it depends, who are you?’ Now come on, let’s be serious. Let’s be serious.“
At a meeting of NATO defence ministers this week, participants were also not in a mood to mince words.
“The whole idea of NATO is that an attack on one ally will trigger the response from the whole alliance and as long as we stand behind that message together, we prevent any military attack on any ally,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.
“So, any suggestion that we are not standing up for each other, that we are not going to protect each other, that does undermine the security of all of us.”
Stoltenberg also reported record military spending of the alliance.
As budgetary decisions are taken over a period of months, NATO spending cannot be considered a direct response to Trump – who has a track record of hostile remarks about NATO.
It rather reflects a response to Russian aggression and Vladimir Putin.
The higher military spending is being done in a rather difficult economic situation.
This week, European aerospace group Airbus reported its latest earnings. The numbers were mixed, the financial forecast for 2024 was cautious.
In general, it’s a tough financial environment for the aviation industry who is looking toward cutting costs everywhere.
One option under consideration is a reduction of the number of pilots at the controls of an airliner, it’s called the “extended Minimum Crew Operations”, eMCO.
Something that pilots believe is a deeply concerning development that would come at the cost of safety.
To discuss this, we were joined by Otjan de Bruijn, president of the European Cockpit Association.
ADVERTISEMENTBelow is a transcript of our interview.
Euronews: So, you represent more than 40,000 pilots in 33 countries – tell us why your organisation is against eMCO?
De Bruijn: So, in aviation, we have redundancy and backup for all safety-critical systems. And this philosophy is at the core of modern aviation. To give you an example, on board of large airplanes, every safety-critical system is installed two-fold or three-fold. To prevent this crucial failure currently, there are also two pilots at the controls of an aircraft. Two pilots work as a team. They serve as this critical safety net monitoring system, but also monitor each other, detecting errors and mitigating potential hazards before they escalate.
Euronews: What are the risks associated with a one-pilot-only scheme?
De Bruijn: So, in this concept, when this one pilot is there for hours, during the cruise phase, he or she would need to take a toilet break. And during this toilet break, there would be no pilot. So, what happens, for instance, if at that moment air traffic control asks you to deviate from your flight path if there is an engine fire or smoke developing on the flight deck or a collision warning, I, as a pilot will not be able to be responsible for the safety of my passengers, of my crew and my aircraft.
ADVERTISEMENTEuronews: The one-pilot-concept is under evaluation by the EU Aviation Safety Agency. How advanced is this evaluation and have you guys been consulted?
De Bruijn: So, in the last two years, a small group of stakeholders has been consulted in which we, indeed, were also consulted and have been involved. This is the first time in history that the European Aviation Safety Agency is starting rule-making without the purpose of solving a safety issue. Instead, they are introducing many safety issues, and we have no trust in this evaluation process being carried out independently and impartially.
Euronews: What about your employers, the airlines, where do they come down on this?
De Bruijn: Well, it is very simple. It is commercially driven by some airlines who see a potential of saving some money by reducing the number of pilots during long-haul flights. Airlines may be tempted by the prospect of gaining this cost-saving competitive advantage through the elimination of this pilot. However, they may find themselves unpleasantly surprised to discover that commercial incentives are an extremely risky driver in aviation. And if they doubt this, they should simply ask Boeing.
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A longtime critic of the Iranian regime and the former head of the rogue nation’s national wrestling team are urging sports organizations to ban Iran from competitions just weeks after Tehran executed thousands of anti-government demonstrators.
The sport of wrestling, a national pastime in Iran, has been hit hard by the Iranian regime’s slaughter of protesters seeking to end 47 years of Islamist totalitarian rule in the country.
According to a report Friday from the London-based independent news organization Iran International, the clerical regime killed Parsa Lorestani, a 15-year-old protester and wrestler from the city of Zagheh in western Iran. A government sniper allegedly killed Lorestani in the city of Khorramabad during a protest Jan. 8. The outlet showed video of the young boy wrestling.
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Wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi faces imminent execution in Iran for protest participation as international pressure mounts to save the athlete. (The Foreign Desk)
“Another wrestler murdered. Erfan Kari was 20. A champion,” Iranian-American Sardar Parshaei, former head coach of Iran’s national Greco-Roman wrestling, wrote on his X account Friday.
“He could have been an Olympian. Instead, the Islamic regime shot him for protesting. Other wrestlers are still in prison. Be their voice. Save them.”
Prominent dissident Masih Alinejad announced to her 786.800 followers in an X post Friday, “The Islamic Republic has slaughtered over 40,000 protesters, thousands of them athletes, children, teenagers, young people, women, men, and from various sports disciplines. At the same time, the regime shamelessly exploits international sporting events to legitimize itself and whitewash its crimes. With the upcoming FIFA World Cup to be hosted in the United States, we demand that FIFA take a firm and principled stand.”
Alinejad noted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is recognized by the U.S. and European Union as a terrorist organization, controls all aspects of Iranian society, including sports.
“FIFA, the International Olympic Committee and all global sports organizations must refuse to legitimize a system that massacres its own people and athletes for demanding freedom and human dignity,” Alinejad said. “Boycott the Islamic Republic from all international sporting competitions.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sits next to a senior military official in Iran. (Getty Images)
Afsoon Roshanzamir Johnston, the first American female wrestler to win a medal in world championship competition in 1989, told Fox News Digital the slaughter of protesters in her homeland makes her sick.
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“It is with a very sad and heavy heart that I speak for the Iranian people and the dire situation currently unfolding in my homeland,” she said. “Having been a young girl in Iran during the 1979 Revolution, I vividly remember the feeling of the clocks being turned back 100 years as women’s freedoms and fundamental human rights were stripped away overnight.”
Roshanzamir Johnston said women are denied the basic right to participate in athletics, and young male wrestlers are being tortured and executed.
“We can no longer turn a blind eye to this brutality,” she said. “It is time for a call to action: We must find a way to place undeniable pressure on the regime to end these mass killings without stripping our athletes of their hard-earned opportunities. The world must stand with the people of Iran before more of our bravest souls are lost.”
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Parshaei, who was a world champion Greco-Roman wrestler, told Fox News Digital he is also campaigning for the IOC and United World Wrestling to block Iran from competitions.
Sepehr Ebrahimi was shot and killed by security forces during anti-regime protests near Tehran Jan. 11. (Simay Azadi/National Council of Resistance of Iran )
When asked if the IOC would ban Iran and whether the Olympic body agrees with the U.S. demand that Iran not execute 19-year-old wrestler Saleh Mohammadi, who faces an imminent death penalty, the IOC media team directed Fox News Digital to a Jan. 29 statement on the matter.
“We will continue to work with our Olympic stakeholders to help where we can, often through quiet sport diplomacy. The IOC remains in touch with the Olympic community from Iran.”
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Dan Russell, executive director of U.S.-based Wrestling for Peace, said sports and diplomacy can be complicated, but in the current situation, athletes must stand together.
“Neutrality cannot mean indifference when lives are at stake,” Russell said. “Sport must take a stand for peace, respect and human dignity.
“Every option must be considered to demand an immediate halt to executions, the release of imprisoned wrestlers such as Saleh Mohammadi and Alireza Nejati and basic protections for athletes who speak with conscience,” Russell added. “Athletes who represent the best of who we are as the wrestling family. “
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A spokesman for Iran’s U.N. mission told Fox News Digital, “The mission declined to comment.”
But not all critics of Tehran’s brutal regime support banning Iran from sports competitions.
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“I am not in favor of banning Iran’s wrestling team,” said Potkin Azarmehr, a British Iranian expert on the Islamic Republic. “If Iran’s wrestling team competes, it’s an opportunity for more defections and protests against the regime by the spectators which will be televised and reach millions of viewers inside Iran, too.
“The ban would just be a blanket victimization of other wrestlers who have trained long hours for this,” he added. “Having said that, the IOC and UWW should make some statement and make sure spectators are allowed to display pictures of the fallen wrestlers.”
Published On 8 Feb 2026
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