Recently, Future Sky Safety’s P5’s research received wide media coverage and was mentioned by a number of online international newspapers:
• The London School of Economics and Science, 06/12/2016
• European Commision, 12/12/2016
• ECA (European Cockpit Association), 07/12/2016
• BALPA (British Airline Pilots’ Association), 07/12/2016
• European Commission’s CORDIS, 12/12/2016 (other languages: DE, ES, FR, IT, PL)
• The Telegraph, 06/12/2016
• The Times, 07/12/2016
• The Guardian Conversation, 07/12/2016
• The Daily Mail, 07/12/2016
• The Economist, 08/12/2016
• The Irish Independent, 08/12/2016
• The New Zealand Herald, 08/12/2016
• Travel Weekly, 07/12/2016
• Air & Cosmos International, 07/12/2016
• BlueSky, 08/12/2016
• Londynek, 08/12/2016
• Energy voice, 08/12/2016
• Flying in Ireland, 11/12/2016
The articles above all refer to P5’s work and in particular to the results of its report on European pilots’ perceptions of safety culture in European Aviation. The report surveyed 7,239 pilots from across Europe, approximately 14% of the total commercial pilot population, in an effort to measure their perception of safety culture.
In fact, although safety culture has become a key indicator for assessing safety practices within European aviation organisations, there is currently no systematic practice of measuring safety culture amongst pilots. The largest ever survey of commercial pilots on safety culture represents a significant step in this direction.
The results show that perceptions of safety culture are generally positive amongst pilots. The vast majority did not feel they had to take risks that made them feel uncomfortable about safety, and they indicated a high degree of confidence in their colleagues. But pilots concerns over fatigue and understaffing suggest that many feel they are being pushed too hard by their demanding schedules.
Among the key findings of the work, 51 per cent of pilots surveyed reported that fatigue was not taken seriously by their airline, and 28 per cent of pilots felt that they had insufficient numbers of staff to carry out their work safely. In a further notable finding, less than 20 per cent of the pilots surveyed felt that their airline company cares about their well-being.
The survey was conducted by The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and EUROCONTROL. Dr Tom Reader, Associate Professor in Organisational and Social Psychology at LSE and one of the report’s co-authors, said: “Pilots, airlines, and regulators need to begin a dialogue to understand what these results means for the industry. This will help to address the concerns raised by pilots, and help to identify what could be changed to maintain the positive safety culture within the industry, while ensuring that European aviation remains competitive.”
Full details of the survey are available in the D5.4 European pilots’ perceptions of safety culture in European Aviation.
FSS research was funded from the EU’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 640597, but neither the report nor this news necessarily reflects the views of the European Commission.
