Der Bundesverband der Deutschen Luftverkehrswirtschaft (BDL) sieht sich nicht imstande, an der Londoner Konferenz Aircraft Cabin Air teilzunehmen
"BDL will not be able to participate. We intensively concentrate on our work on this important and complex issue together with all of our members, the safety experts, our unions, the national and European safety and oversight authorities, the manufactorers, the health experts and research institutions, like the German DLR."
Mit diesen Worten begründet der BDL seine Nichtteilnahme bzw. sein Desinteresse daran, an neuen Erkenntnissen zum Problem kontaminierter Kabinenluft teilzuhaben, die auf der zweitägigen Konferenz vorgestellt und diskutiert werden sollen. Bewusstes Negieren von Tatsachen und Fakten durch flächendeckend praktiziertes Desinteresse ist eine der Praktiken, die man als Kartell des (Ver)Schweigens bezeichnet.
Die Veranstalter haben den BDL daraufhin nochmals angeschrieben. Und ihn auf das widersprüchliche Verhalten aufmerksam gemacht:
"With regard to the email sent below to our Head of Research, Dr. Susan Michaelis, we thank you for your reply. The GCAQE is very disappointed that BDL will not participate in this seminal conference where all sides of the science will be discussed and advanced.
I refer you to the BDL Position Statement where, on page 2 under "B. Past activities and findings" it claims (translated into English) the following:
"Regarding the topic of cabin air, it has repeatedly been stated in the past few years whether the health of the passengers and crews as well as the safety of the flight could be endangered by the penetration of burned oil residues into the cabin air. It is therefore important to the airlines to know whether there are actually reliable findings from scientific investigations that confirm these statements and whether there is a problem that necessitates changes in flight operations or the maintenance or manufacture of aircraft."
Do you not see a glaring inconsistency between the BDL decision to not participate in the conference and with the above words? By pointing this inconsistency between words and actions out to you, would you perhaps reconsider and send a representative of BDL and some of the German aviation industry to participate in the conference? The conference is, after all, going to be the first major opportunity to openly address "whether there are actually reliable findings from scientific investigations that confirm these statements and whether there is a problem that necessitates changes in flight operations or the maintenance or manufacture of aircraft."
There is still room at the table for your participation, which would be welcome! Science advances through transparent, open discussion and access to data. Your non-participation would be sorely missed. Please also note that there are other international airlines and manufacturers that are attending and would I am sure welcome your attendance also.
Please let us know your final decision in light of our pointing the above out to you.
Sincerely, Captain Tristan Loraine BCAi, Spokesman, Global Cabin Air Quality Executive (GCAQE)"
Eine Antwort haben die Veranstalter nicht (mehr) erhalten.
Wie der BDL das (Nicht)Problem sieht, ist auf dessen Website zu lesen: Luftqualität im Flugzeug