Icelandair pilot personality checks
Photo: Skapti
According to Guðjón Arngrímsson, Communications Officer for Icelandair, new pilots undergo comprehensive assessment at the recruitment stage, including personality checks.
“New recruits undergo proficiency checks twice a year and perform a check flight once a year. If any question marks of any type arise, then we consult our in-house doctor,” indicates Arngrímsson.
Pilots must declare illnesses
“Of course, it is up to the pilots themselves to inform the airline of any illnesses, whatever they may be. We then refer the case to our in-house doctor or other specialist physicians, as appropriate,” he continues.
As reported on mbl.is on Friday, Icelandair has decided to change its safety rules in the wake of last week’s air disaster in France. Now, two crew members must always be present on the flight deck. In practice, this means that a member of cabin crew must replace one of the pilots, should they need the leave the flight deck.
Some dissatifaction
Sources close to mbl.is have indicated that some Icelandair pilots are unhappy with the new rules. Arngrímsson declined to comment on this.
Last Friday saw the European Aviation Safety Agency issue a recommendation for all European airlines to adopt the same new procedures as Icelandair, i.e. that there should never be fewer than two crew members on the flight take when the aircraft is airborne. Many airlines, including all major US airlines, were already operating under such rules even before the germanwings air disaster last week.
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