Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
As many people return to air travel this holiday season, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) has launched a campaign to inform the public that pilots are more than ready to get them to their destinations safely. ALPA touts the skill of North American pilots, including the 3.2 million hours ALPA pilots spent training in 2020 to prepare to return passengers to the skies. As part of the campaign, ALPA also advocates the need to have at least two trained, experienced professional pilots on every flight deck. While there are some who think the industry could save money by having only one pilot on a flight without jeopardizing safety, ALPA maintains that safety would indeed be compromised. The union’s “More Than Ready” campaign makes clear to decision-makers, passengers and cargo shippers that reducing the number of pilots on the flight deck is a safety risk nobody should want to take.
ALPA said: “As we continue to face many threats to our jobs—and to the safety and security of the skies—we stand More Than Ready to respond, adjusting our advocacy efforts in the United States and Canada to advance our pilot-partisan agenda and protect the hard-fought gains ALPA pilots have made over nine decades.”