By Martin Chalk, BALPA General Secretary Martin Chalk As you will see from our Executive Presidents welcome, BALPA has been very active developing the influence our profession seeks to deploy on behalf of us all. Parliamentary receptions and BALPA-led industry events are the culmination of months of work. This involves developing relationships, making well-structured and mature arguments to support our key messages, and meeting the right people to ensure we are heard and, more importantly, that we are listened to. In addition to the current headline issues affecting our profession, there are real and difficult challenges just ahead. The NEC has recently set up two working groups to examine proposals to address the threat of reduced crew operations, and the challenges and opportunities that flow from the UKs departure from the EU. Aircraft manufacturers have been working towards developing mitigations for having just a single pilot on the flight deck for part of some flights, or all of some future flights. Unfortunately, there is a real lack of understanding of those human or unpredictable issues that are resolved by professional pilots working together on the day. A while ago, I wrote an article for The Log that drew on some Boeing research suggesting that, during one in every five flights, the flight crew intervene to prevent a potential major incident or accident. The value of the professional collaborative approach employed by flight crew to reduce the hazards inherent in civil aviation is being missed and we must, as a profession, ensure that it is better understood. Market imbalance The unprecedented effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have masked the changes for our industry, resulting from the UKs decision to leave the EU. UK airlines have lost the benefits of full access to the major aviation market on our doorstep. The difficult and rushed positions adopted to give effect to Brexit have created market imbalance between the UK and the EU. Combined with some of our airlines suffering recruitment issues last summer, this has resulted in an expansion of wet leasing, particularly from the EU. UK airlines are some of the best in the world, and can compete with any others on a level playing field we need to ensure that is the case. Along with the immediate challenge of high inflation eroding pay, recovery from the smash-andgrab some employers committed on our terms and conditions, and the need for our industry to avoid being this summers headlines, these near-future threats need as robust a response as did mass redundancy notices and pay cuts during the pandemic. To this end, working with and through Acas, BALPA reps and staff recently attended an Acas-chaired event to promote good industrial relations practice. Managements from many of our main employers were also present, which again underscores the commitment BALPA, our staff, our reps and, most importantly, our members give to ensuring pilots enjoy a safe and rewarding profession individually, collectively and professionally. BALPA the voice of UK pilots: safety, strength, unity.