You wouldn’t think it was possible in 2018 for any business to discriminate against someone because of their HIV status. According to the Terrence Higgins Trust, a charity which advocates on behalf of people who have the condition, someone who is having successful treatment can “expect to live as long as anyone else.”
While there are still many scare stories and misconceptions about the Human Immuno Deficiency Virus (HIV), the Terrence Higgins Trust explains that nowadays, HIV medication and treatment is very effective. Many people will live a normal life and patients with an undetectable viral load through effective treatment can’t pass on HIV.
But sadly discrimination does still occur and European aviation safety laws are currently prohibiting HIV positive people from becoming commercial pilots. The situation recently gained media attention when an anonymous Scottish man was offered a place on an airline’s training programme, only to then be refused the required medical certificate.
The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said at the time that European legislation meant it wasn’t allowed to grant a medical certificate to anyone suffering from HIV. But while European regulators are now considering a rule change, the CAA has acted to immediately stop this type of discrimination.
In a recent statement, the CAA described itself as “one of the most progressive aviation authorities in the world.”
Describing its ongoing work on HIV, the CAA wrote:
“We have also been responsible for writing international guidelines on pilots living with HIV and have been promoting the need for changes to the current regulations regarding the restrictions applicable to pilots with certain medical conditions, including HIV.”
Now, the agency has decided to start issuing medical certificates to applicants who are HIV Positive as long as they can otherwise pass all other elements of the medical. Explaining its decision, the CAA said it was making a temporary exemption while it pressed European regulators to make a longer term change.
“We have made representations to EASA, which is the governing body responsible for medical standards, and asked them to undertake the necessary rulemaking activity and associated research without delay, that we hope will lead to a permanent change to the current regulations,” the CAA said in a statement.
A leading union for pilots in the UK, BALPA has welcomed the ruling, saying it addresses an inconsistency which saw pilots who developed the condition while already employed allowed to continue their job but prevented new pilots from joining the profession.
While we still don’t know how long it might take EASA to overturn this old fashioned rule, it’s hoped other European aviation safety regulators at a country level will implement similar workarounds like the CAA’s in the near future.
