Join Balpa

For women, the viability and attractiveness of a career as a pilot is significantly affected by the ability to balance working as a pilot with maternity and childcare commitments.

At its most fundamental level lies the issue of maternity pay. The financial support available to a woman following the birth of her child has a major influence on the decisions that she will make, the consequences of which will be present for an entire career.

The current levels of maternity pay available are grossly inadequate, causing significant hardship to women seeking to balance their careers with their family lives.

That’s why BALPA launched Baby on Board in 2019

Our c ampaign called on all airlines to provide maternity packages of 26 full weeks of pay followed by half pay for the remainder of their statutory maternity leave, based on average pay over the previous 12 months.

Since Baby on Board launched, many companies have offered their female pilots a slightly enhanced maternity package. However, these all fall short of BALPA’s call for fair and workable maternity pay levels and there are still airlines offering just statutory pay.

As the UK’s pilot union representing 85% of pilots across the UK, BALPA and is continuing to bargain for fairer maternity packages for female pilots across all companies: join now to help enhance maternity pay in your company.

More Campaigns.

Reduced Crew Operations: #SafetyStartsWith2

Safety Starts With 2 BALPA pilots believe the safety of every airline flight always starts with at least two well trained, qualified and rested pilots on the flight deck. Removing pilots from the flight deck is a gamble with safety. That is why BALPA is joining pilots from around the globe to engage in a […]

Protect trainee pilots from flight school collapses

Following the collapse of several flights schools, resulting in some students losing tens of thousands of pounds, BALPA is campaigning to protect trainee pilots from similar situations.

Fighting the Strikes Bill

Government is trying to curb the right to strike for transport workers. Under new proposals, the Secretary of State for Transport would gain sweeping powers to set minimum service levels during strikes, removing or curtailing their effect.

This is unacceptable to BALPA and the entire trade union movement.

Supporting Pilot Licensing

The new and unfair post-Brexit licencing system means UK pilot licences have been seriously degraded in value and utility. The new state of play has actively prevented UK pilots, including those made redundant due to Covid-19, from securing UK jobs.

BALPA continues to campaign for a reciprocal Flight Crew and Engineer Licence agreement between the UK and EU, which would benefit all UK airlines. This would address the imbalance following Brexit and the Government must address it urgently.

Environment and Sustainability

BALPA wants to see a thriving future for the aviation sector in the UK, one that provides jobs for our members and mobility for our population. Yet we are in the midst of a climate crisis and have a moral and legal obligation to ensure our future is a sustainable one.

Fighting Pilot Fatigue

Fatigue has for many years been a worrying issue for pilots and it continues to be a huge concern across the industry today. Pilots have told BALPA they believe fatigue is now the biggest single threat to flight safety.

Maternity Pay for Female Pilots

For women, the viability and attractiveness of a career as a pilot is significantly affected by the ability to balance working as a pilot with maternity and childcare commitments. At its most fundamental level lies the issue of maternity pay. The financial support available to a woman following the birth of her child has a […]

Pilot Pensions

Pilots feel the current pension system – including the existing tax relief framework – works. They want stability and fear any changes could undermine the system and put people off saving for their future.