Budget airlines refute 'safety in jeopardy' claims

Budget airlines have reacted angrily to an accusation that at least one no-frills carrier is jeopardising safety by ignoring …

Budget airlines have reacted angrily to an accusation that at least one no-frills carrier is jeopardising safety by ignoring orders from air traffic controllers.

The allegation came in a report from an unnamed air traffic controller received by the industry's Confidential Human Factors Incident Reporting Programme, known as Chirp.

The Timesreports the controller says pilots are approaching airports too fast and sometimes have to abort landings because they are too close to the plane in front.

They are also accused of ignoring longer flight paths set up to cut down on noise disturbance and, instead, taking shorter routes over nearby houses.

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A spokeswoman for Ryanair said: "We operate to the highest standards of international safety and like all airlines we are regulated by the aviation authorities."

A spokeswoman for KLM's budget airline Buzz said: "All our pilots are KLM-trained. I am very surprised by this allegation."

According to The Times, the unnamed air traffic controller says pilots are cutting corners because they are working under "extreme pressure on the flight deck to achieve programmed sector times".

The controller complained of "overly aggressive responses" from pilots, who frequently challenged the order in which jets took off and landed.

He urged Chirp to act "before it reaches a level with the potential to compromise safety".

Officials at Go says safety is "non-negotiable". The airline would launch an immediate investigation if any pilot disregarded air control instructions.

PA