About
BALPA

BALPA Begins

From its very beginning, safety has been at the heart of BALPA’s work. A narrow escape, when all four engines of Eric Lane Burslem’s ice-laden Imperial Airways biplane cut out at 9,000ft spurred him on to take action.

This, along with another serious incident two years earlier, persuaded Lane-Burslem to form a pilots’ association to shine a spotlight on safety. The first official mass meeting of pilots was held on 27th June 1937.

Lane-Burslem recognised that, to be taken seriously, BALPA had to keep closely in touch with Parliament and aviation debates needed a better turnout of MPs. This prompted him to create the positions of President and Vice-President to represent BALPA in Parliament. These roles are still active and supporting BALPA today. You can hear an interview with Eric Lane- Burslem here.

Post-War

As the aviation industry grew through the decades, so did BALPA. After the founding of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 1947, BALPA supported the creation of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA). BALPA became a founding member in 1948 and continues to closely contribute to IFALPA’s work today.

In the years after the Second World War, BALPA membership tripled to over 3,000, reflecting the huge increase in air travel in this era. However, that growth in activity increased the pressures upon pilots and led to a great deal of unease among them. In 1968, there were two strikes of BOAC pilots.

BALPA navigated the 1972 merger between BEA and BOAC, and subsequent merger with Cambrian Airways and Northeast Airways, collectively forming British Airways in 1974.

BALPA decided to become an association for all UK commercial pilots, rather than being limited to specific airlines.

Concorde Flies

BALPA was closely involved in the development of the iconic, supersonic Concorde. The British manufacturers of the aircraft and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) allowed BALPA’s Concorde Evaluation Team close access to the project, enabling them to contribute to engineering and operational aspects from the early stages.

This included overcoming noise abatement challenges at New York Kennedy Airport (JFK).

BALPA members spent a considerable amount of time flying the simulators, and in 1974-75, several members flew the pre-production aircraft in test-flights. This is a unique example of close liaison between BALPA, an aircraft manufacturer, and the regulatory authorities.

You can read more about this in our blog.

Growth & Recognition

Two significant airlines began operations in this period. In 1984, Virgin Atlantic started operations from Gatwick, initially on purely transatlantic routes. The company became a BALPA recognised airline in 2000.

On the other side of London, easyJet began operations from Luton in 1995, initially operating domestic flights only. Pilots voted for BALPA recognition in 2001.

In 1991, BALPA was one of the founder members of the European Cockpit Association (ECA), which is dedicated to ensuring that the pilots’ voice is clearly heard in Brussels. BALPA remains an active member of the ECA, especially after Brexit. This ensures that BALPA’s members concerns on European wide issues – including the need to address Brexit imbalances such as pilot licencing – are heard.

Fighting Fatigue

BALPA’s political influence and expertise grew significantly, in this period, leading to the successful prevention of an EU attempt to water down fatigue regulations in 2003.

BALPA secured a commitment from the UK Government that UK standards would not be reduced despite new EU rules.

BALPA successfully defended a court case brought against it by Ryanair in 2006. The judge condemned Ryanair’s evidence to the court, and directed they pay all the Association’s substantial costs.

Similarly in 2008, legal action alone prevented a strike at British Airways over the establishment of a new low-cost airline in Europe.

By 2008, BALPA’s membership had reached 10,000 pilots.

Major Legal Win

BALPA used its extensive legal expertise to secure a fair deal for its members, winning a major legal case in the European Court of Justice over the treatment of pilots’ pay during their holidays.

Over £35 million back-pay was paid to pilots and individual holiday pay entitlement was improved for the future not only for pilots, but for all workers.

In 2012, BALPA gave evidence to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee on draft EU rules for the working hours and conditions for pilots. The TSC’s final report rejected the EU’s draft rules, suggesting improvements, or “safety could be at risk”. Hundreds of pilots protested outside the EASA’s Cologne HQ.

Despite this, and despite the advice of its own Transport Committee, the European Commission disappointingly voted in 2013 to accept the EASA proposals in full. BALPA continues to work to protect the safety of the public and aircrew to this day.

In 2015, BALPA’s nextGen project launched, giving aspiring pilots free access to training advice, career guidance and BALPA membership, and campaigning for student funding for pilot training.

During the 2016 Brexit referendum, BALPA warned of the need to maintain a level playing field between EU and UK in both safety and business interests.

BALPA secured a voluntary recognition agreement with Ryanair in 2018.

BALPA recognised the growth of drones and their usage in UK airspace, so as well as lobbying for the safe integration of drones in UK airspace, it also opened its doors to professional drone operators via a new membership category.

In February 2019, BALPA launched its Baby on Board Campaign aimed at improving maternity pay across UK airlines. Some airlines made improvements to maternity pay and provisions for parents, but despite big marketing campaigns by airlines claiming to want to increase diversity in the piloting workforce and to attract more women to the role, statutory maternity is still all that’s on offer at the majority of UK airlines.

In September 2019, Thomas Cook collapsed. BALPA supported members, assisting them with their employment rights, getting into new jobs and supporting those struggling with the challenging times.

In 2020 the world faced an unprecedented challenge in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aviation took the brunt of the impact as borders closed and travel was restricted. BALPA rose to the challenge and minimised job losses (ensuring that any pilots made redundant had the “right to return”), minimised temporary reductions in pay and pushed back on attempts by employers to secure permanent changes to Ts&Cs.

BALPA also led the industry in lobbying government for support for the industry, as well as an evidence-led approach to border restrictions.

Following the tragic collapse of Flybe and Norwegian UK, as well as Thomas Cook in 2019, BALPA worked hard to secure alternative employment for all affected pilots and ensure all pilots received the benefits they were entitled to.

BALPA continued to lead the travel and aviation industries through Covid-19. BALPA was at the forefront of the Travel Day of Action protests on 23 June – one of the biggest political events in the travel industry’s history.

With no end to international restrictions in sight, BALPA campaigned for an extension of the much-needed furlough scheme.

BALPA secured two significant legal wins. First, against Ryanair for ‘blacklisting’ after numerous pilots had their staff travel benefits removed in retaliation for striking in 2019. The Employment Tribunal robustly rejected Ryanair’s position.

Second, BALPA won a long running court case against Government, removing the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) compensation cap delivering £35million in pension payments to BALPA members including ex-BMI and Monarch pilots.

Industrially, BALPA secured a recognition agreement with Norse Atlantic.

At the start of 2022, BALPA funded and won a landmark legal case against Ryanair relating to the status of “self-employed” and agency pilots, their rights and employment conditions. As a result of the case, Ryanair changed their employment model, so pilots who were previously “Self-Employed Contractors” became Employed as “Agency Workers”. This provides affected pilots with additional rights and equal treatment to pay.

By the end of 2022, all pilots in BALPA recognised companies who had accepted reduced pay to support companies through Covid-19 had returned to full pay.

BALPA now represents over 85% of all UK pilots. Based at Heathrow, it has over 200 pilot representatives and 35 full-time staff providing industrial, legal, flight safety and scheduling support, plus lobbying, external (including media) relations and much more.

The unity of our members is what is at the heart of BALPA. It is what formed the Association in 1937, is at the core of everything we do today, and as long as there are professional pilots, there will be a BALPA.