EASA ASC 2025: Complacency seen as top safety risk, rules to be simplified
EASA warned that complacency, fuelled by a strong safety record, is the biggest threat to European aviation safety and called for streamlined rules to focus on current risks.
Key facts
- EASA ASC 2025 delegates named complacency — from sustained strong safety performance — as the top aviation safety risk.
- Speakers urged review, update and simplification of rules to reduce admin burden and focus on current high-risk areas.
- Conference emphasised risk-based regulation, better use of safety data, and stronger EASA-national authority-industry cooperation.
2 minute read
At the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s Annual Safety Conference (ASC) 2025 in Copenhagen, regulators and industry leaders concluded that complacency — a consequence of Europe’s prolonged good safety record — now represents the most significant aviation safety threat. Delegates warned that an increasingly complex operating environment and a patchwork of detailed or inconsistent rules can draw attention away from the most important risks.
Speakers recommended a strategic review and simplification of existing rules to reduce administrative burden and improve regulatory focus. The proposals prioritised proportionate, risk-based regulation, improved use of safety data, and harmonisation across member states. Industry participants supported efforts to streamline compliance obligations so operators can allocate resources to emerging hazards such as systems complexity and human factors.
EASA framed the initiative as pragmatic: retain high safety standards while making the regulatory framework clearer and more adaptable. The conference closed urging closer cooperation between EASA, national authorities and industry to translate simplified, evidence-led rules into effective oversight and safety management across Europe.
Source: EASA
