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BRUSSELS (AP) - The European Parliament has voted for introducing a community-wide ceiling on flying hours for pilots and cabin crews.
Lawmakers in Strasbourg on Wednesday backed legislation limiting the time in which pilots can be flying or on standby to 16 hours, or 11 hours for night flights.
Pilot and cabin crew associations vigorously opposed the legislation. They say its ceilings are too high and loopholes could lead to more crew fatigue than under the current rules in most of the EU's 28 member nations.
Tighter standards spelled out in collective bargaining agreements would not be affected.
The rules still need approval by the EU member states' governments.
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