Europe decides on standby, flight times and rest periods. The European Parliament has just approved the revision of pilots’ and crews’ duty flight times as proposed by the European Aviation Safety Agency ( E.A.S.A. ); however these new rules destined to increase flight safety within the E.U. have attracted the wrath of pilot unions. On October 9th., despite opposition from its own Transport Commission, the European Parliament approved the revision of pilots’ and crews’ flight times as proposed by the E.A.S.A. ( European Aviation Safety Agency )... but these new rules destined at increasing the safety of flights within the European Union have drawn the ire of pilots’ unions which call them dangerous. Because even if the limitation to 1,000 hours, as against 1,300 at present, for the total flight-time of a pilot over a period of 12 consecutive months seems to aim in the right direction, there are many other points of contention. The maximum night-flight time for a pilot that will reduce from eleven and three quarter hours to 11, is considered NOT enough say the pilots, who are demanding a maximum of ten hours for reasons of fatigue, and therefore safety. Another concern is the extension of hours of working over a given period. Airline pilots in the U.K. see this as a regression of their working condition rights. Piers Applegarth: "Today we are allowed to work a maximum of 95 hours over a period of 14 days and with this text we're going to 110 hours ... This represents an increase of 15 %." The complexity of these rules is undeniable; because each must be adjusted according to the number of daily flights, the time at which the pilots take up their duties, or the number of consecutive days worked. Some of these new measures are also valued differently - the standby time for example. Scientific research on fatigue indicates that the flight-time added to the standby time should not exceed 18 hours, whilst the text could call on pilots to be awake, non-stop, for 22 hours. An argument that the E.A.S.A. rejects in stating that the 16 waking hours will not be exceeded, if the on-call duty is carried out at the airport. Over time things should be clarified, because though the European Parliament has just approved this text, it should not come into force before the end of 2015; the 27 member states still having to ratify it each in turn.