In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, the Flight Safety Foundation, FSF, says it is essential for all players in the aviation industry to maintain high safety performance in continuing and reduced operations globally.
In a document to all aviation players in the world, the Flight Safety Foundation, an independent International Organization, notes that the coronavirus pandemic is having a devastating effect on aviation and represents the biggest strategic shock to the global aviation system since international air travel began.
While acknowledging that the crisis is first and foremost a human tragedy, and everyone’s first priority is to ensure their own family’s safety, the Foundation stated that all must also understand that the world as known today will not be the same even after the virus is contained.
The Flight Safety Foundation, FSF, urged major players in the business not to loss hope despite the latest projection by the International Air Transport Association that 2020 passenger revenues could fall $252 billion, or 44 percent from last year’s level if severe travel restrictions remain in place for up to three months and are followed by a gradual economic recovery later this year.
The foundation says the global aviation system is still functioning despite the slash in passenger operations, fleets of aircraft grounded and thousands of employees furloughed and thus safety should not be thrown away or handled with levity.
“Consider all operations as non-normal and therefore a threat to safety, ensure cost pressures do not unduly reduce acceptable safety levels, consider possible culture change as the company or organization goes into financial survival thinking, ensure sufficient staff available commensurate with the actual level of operations, ensure continued use of your safety management system (SMS) to its full potential aware that risk levels of each flight will change from locality to locality and with each type of operation due to the state of the crisis progression”.
In flight operations, the FSF says players should consider skills, knowledge and qualification distribution across the route network and management pressures on minimum fuel among others.
“Consider crew currency and knowledge of available airfields, physiological requirements for crews at airports and on layovers (hotels, food,etc),fatigue risk boundaries and increased flight data monitoring to identify precursors.”
The 25pages document titled “non-medical operational safety aspect supplemental materials” also advises all aviation professionals in flight operations, air traffic services, airports ground operations and maintenance, as well as for regulators and manufacturers as they navigates the current environments, and eventually, a safe harmonised and sustainable return to global air transportation.
The safety related documents which serves as a roadmap for professionals in different segment of the aviation ecosystem is to inform and guide decisions under difficult circumstances as presently being experienced.
“The Foundation has tapped into the considerable expertise of our advisory committees and other experts, many of whom offered input based on what they are seeing right now on a day-to-day basis and what they believe is necessary to maintain safe operations during this crisis,” it stated.
The FSF says the document should be viewed as a “work in progress,” as it continues to enhance and expand it, moving forward. “We will solicit inputs from the safety and operations communities to inform changes and future versions.”
