ANA 787 batteries
6th February 2013
Germany's pilots' union has criticized a decision by Air Berlin and Lufthansa to resume flights to Israel after the airlines ended a ban imposed in response to escalating conflict in the country.
Joerg Handwerg, a board member at German pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit said that the decision appeared to be driven by political and economic factors rather than by security reasons.
Handwerg said: "We should not be flying to locations where shots are being fired,"Handwerg also said he had demanded that airlines ensure that staff only agree to go on flights on a voluntary basis.
A spokesman for Lufthansa stated that the airline was constantly monitoring the security situation at Tel Aviv airport, using all available security information.
"A decision on whether or not to fly is made purely on the basis of security considerations," Lufthansa said.
The European Cockpit Association, (ECA) which represents 38,000 European pilots from 37 European states, stated concerns over a lack of transparency.
The ECA said: "The main issue is that there is no common understanding of the risk assessment process being used or assurance that the assessment for all airline operators is being fed by the best available intelligence. This makes it difficult to judge if the security situation has indeed changed or not, and whether the resulting action taken is appropriate.