Pilots Scorn Air Comet, Air Pullmantur, Vueling and Clickair as the Most Unsafe Carriers

Air Comet is penciled in by Spain’s Pilots Trade Union as the one national airline that fails to comply with all safety guidelines, according to local newspaper ABC. This conclusion comes on the heels of a recent poll conducted by the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos among 613 pilots and flight commanders. The survey also blacklisted companies like Air Pullmantur, Vueling and Clickair as unsafe and unsecured carriers in Spain.

On the flop side of the coin, though, companies like Air Europa, Binter, Iberia and Spanair got the highest marks under the same standards.

Over 8 out of 10 pilots polled by the college said the non-complying air carriers are dragging along a long list of infringements such as low-fuel landings, takeoffs with unsolved glitches and breakdowns, altered cargo waybills, improper documentation and unlimited flight time.

These worrisome outcomes shed abundant light on the reasons that made Spanish aviation authorities ground Air Madrid a year ago on the basis of constant delays and insecurity. The question now in everybody’s mind is whether Spanish aviation officials will also lower the boom on these carriers as it did on Air Madrid. Chances are everything is going to stay put.

Within this framework, Spain’s Pilot Trade Union doesn’t seem to understand why Spanish Development Minister Magdalena Alvarez is waving the flags of safety and “zero tolerance” when she ordered the grounding of Air Madrid on the one hand, and awarded Air Comet with new routes and funds on the other, now that the latter is getting the unwanted title of the country’s most unsafe air carrier.