The EU-Japan Aviation Partnership Project (APP) hosted an online workshop on the new concept of extended Minimum Crew Operations (eMCO), on 21 March. The activity was intended for the two aviation authorities of Japan and the European Union (the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) respectively) to discuss the latest perspectives on this concept.

The aviation industry is working on the eMCO concept with the aim to enable the safe operation of large commercial aircraft by a single pilot during the cruise phase of flight, while the other pilot(s) rest. This would support fatigue mitigation in specific flight segments, while maintaining a level of safety equivalent to that of two-pilot operations.

The workshop gave the opportunity for JCAB and EASA experts to exchange views with the discussion including the following key aspects: benefits and challenges of eMCO in the aviation industry, safety cases of eMCO, and actions supporting its potential implementation.