Ramapriya wrote:

A commercial pilot I was chatting up recently told me that, in most
European countries, the use of forward thrust is illegal.

Bull****. Fact ist, on many European airports, reverse thrust is
forbidden for noise abatement reasons. Of course, those airports provide
runways long enough so you don't need that reverse thrust.

Does anyone know whether the forward thrust ban isn't too strictly
applied when safety is on the line?

As soon as there is a safety concern, the pilot is allowed to do
anything he needs.

Stefan