A new regulation from the European Aviation Safety Agency also allows HIV-positive people to become pilots - if their health allows it
Pilots are still a dream job for many young people - but only a few make it into the cockpit. The hurdles are high and the recruitment tests are tough. And some even fail the airworthiness test. Previously, a positive HIV test was also a knock-out criterion. The dream of flying is over.
This is now set to end: On 8 April 2012, a new regulation (number: 1178/2011) of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on the licensing of pilots will come into force. And it states that HIV is no longer a fundamental exclusion criterion for prospective pilots.
The wording reads"Applicants with a positive HIV test result may be assessed as fit subject to a satisfactory medical assessment."
Whether someone actually receives the necessary medical certificate is decided by the aviation authority, which is responsible for the medical examinations.
If they are not found to be unfit, pilots with a positive HIV result will from now on receive the suffix OML (Operational Multicrew Limitation) on their certificate. This means that the pilot may only fly with a co-pilot or as a co-pilot.
Unfortunately, the new rules will not take effect immediately: In Germany, as in most other European countries, application will be postponed for at least one year, until 8 April 2014 at the latest. The Federal Ministry of Transport is using 2012 to create the corresponding administrative requirements.
Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe (DAH) welcomes the new EASA guidelines and emphasises once again that routine HIV tests for diagnosis are not mandatory for pilots or cabin crew. "There is no legal basis for this," says DAH spokesperson Silke Eggers.
According to EASA, applicants only need to provide full details of their state of health.
Airlines like to interpret this differently in their application procedures for flight attendants. Lufthansa, for example, has HIV tests carried out during recruitment procedures. According to the airline, however, the result has no influence on the decision. Encouragingly, more and more airlines - including Germanwings, Easyjet, Condor and Air Berlin - no longer require HIV tests.
"That's the right way to go," says Silke Eggers. "There is absolutely no need for these tests. They are discriminatory and should be a thing of the past for all airlines as soon as possible. This also applies to 'voluntary' HIV tests, which some airlines still offer - because voluntary testing is one of those things."
Juliane Böthner
