The Effects of The Pandemic Period on The Performance of Airline Pilots in Turkey

Year 2023, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 64 - 72, 17.03.2023

Çakır Atılhan Güzel Nuran Karaağaoğlu

https://doi.org/10.30518/jav.1200222

Abstract

The aviation industry is one of the sectors that have been adversely affected by the pandemic, both materially and morally. In the early stages of the pandemic, air transport came to a standstill for a long time. The airline industry's inability to do business has had some consequences. Pilots, who are the last link of flight safety, which is an indispensable priority of the airline industry, have been the professional group that directly confronts the material and moral consequences of interrupted flights. When the importance of the flight performance of the pilots is evaluated, the effect of these results on the aviation sector has become suitable to increase geometrically. In this study, it is aimed to reveal the extent to which the pilots are affected by the pandemic conditions and the main reasons for these effects. The method of the study was determined as a questionnaire and one-to-one interviews with flight instructors. 148 pilots participated in the survey and 3 flight instructors were interviewed. According to the results, it has been seen that the group most affected by the effects of the pandemic is the inexperienced first officers who have just started to work and have not gained enough experience yet. It has been seen that every time they come to the cockpit, they perform as if they are sitting in that seat for the first time. It was observed that the least affected were experienced captains. However, in general, since flight is a team job, it has been observed that the workload of experienced captains increases due to inexperienced first officers, which negatively affects flight performance. However, it is thought that it is not reflected in the statistics due to the decrease in the number of flights.

Keywords

Pilot Performance, Flight, Aviation, Effects of Pandemic

Pandemi Döneminin Türkiye’deki Havayolu Pilotlarının Performansına Etkisi

Abstract

Havacılık sektörü de pandemiden hem maddi hem de manevi anlamda olumsuz etkilenen sektörlerin başında gelmektedir. Pandeminin ilk dönemlerinde havayolu ulaşımı uzunca bir süre durma noktasına gelmiştir. Havayolu sektörünün iş yapamaz duruma gelmesi bazı sonuçları doğurmuştur. Havayolu sektörünün vazgeçilmez önceliği olan uçuş güvenliğinin son halkası olan pilotlar, kesilen uçuşların ortaya çıkardığı maddi ve manevi sonuçları doğrudan göğüsleyen meslek grubu olmuştur. Pilotların uçuş performansının önemi değerlendirildiğinde bu sonuçların havacılık sektörüne olan etkisi geometrik şekilde artmaya müsait duruma gelmiştir. Bu çalışmada pilotların pandemi şartlarından ne derecede etkilendiği ve bu etkilerin temel sebeplerinin ortaya çıkarılması hedeflenmiştir. Çalışmanın yöntemi anket ve uçuş öğretmenleriyle yapılan birebir mülakat görüşmesi olarak belirlenmiştir. 148 pilot ankete katılmış ve 3 uçuş öğretmeniyle mülakat yapılmıştır. Sonuçlara göre pandeminin etkilerinden en çok etkilenen grubun, işe yeni başlamış henüz yeterince tecrübe kazanamamış tecrübesiz yardımcı pilotlar olduğu görülmüştür. Kokpite her geldiklerinde ilk defa o koltuğa oturuyormuş gibi performans ortaya koydukları görülmüştür. En az etkilenenin ise tecrübeli kaptanlar olduğu görülmüştür. Ancak genele bakıldığında, uçuş bir ekip işi olduğundan tecrübeli kaptanların iş yükünün, tecrübesiz yardımcı pilotlardan dolayı arttığı ve bununda uçuş performansını olumsuz etkilediği görülmüştür. Ancak uçuş sayıları azaldığından dolayı istatistiklere yansımadığı düşünülmektedir.

Keywords

Pilot Performansı, Uçuş Performansı, Havacılık, Pandeminin Etkileri

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