Reciprocal acceptance of simulator evaluations could save airlines up to $10 million each year, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Association director-general Pierre Jeanniot has issued a statement calling for governments and regulatory authorities to take action on the issue.
"In today's international training environment, a given simulator may be used by airlines from many countries," says Jeanniot. "Each airline requires the evaluation of the simulator by its own regulatory authority.
"These repetitive evaluations cause unnecessary duplication and waste scarce regulatory and training centre resources.
"The necessary framework [for reciprocal acceptance] has been available since 1993 in the form of the ICAO Manual of the Criteria for the Qualification of Flight Simulators. Furthermore, bilateral air safety agreements now exist between European states and the USA which include, inter-alia, provisions for reciprocal acceptance of simulator evaluations.
"We urge governments and regulatory authorities to implement reciprocal acceptance of flight simulator evaluations on an international basis in the course of 1998."
Source: Flight Daily News
