The Effects of Covid-19 Pandemic on the Aviation Sector: A Research on Consumers' Attitudes Towards Air Travel

Year 2023, , 787 - 803, 25.08.2023

Ahmet Songur

https://doi.org/10.21076/vizyoner.1219103

Abstract

The first officially reported case of COVID-19 in Turkey was on March 10, 2020. Since then, the numbers have increased rapidly, surpassing 17 million, with a total of 101,492 deaths as of November 2022 ( T.C. Sağlık Bakanlığı, 2022). This uncertainty associated with the highly contagious nature of the virus and misunderstandings about the coronavirus is making people uncomfortable. This situation can create negative effects at the individual and societal level that would be felt for years. Some of these effects are depression, anxiety, traumatic stress and fear of coronavirus (Ahorsu vd., 2020). The COVID-19 epidemic, which brought economic life to a standstill in a short time, poses serious risks in many sectors, especially in the aviation sector. There are many studies on consumers' willingness to fly in various situations. However, no studies as far as we know to date have identified factors that affect Turkish airline consumers' willingness to fly during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the research, it is aimed to reveal the effects of some factors that affect the willingness of airline consumers to fly during the COVID-19 process. The determined factors are tested on consumers who had traveled by air before. The data are obtained by the questionnaire technique. A total of 424 participants take part in the study. The data are analyzed with the structural equation model. The model revealed by the analysis results, is verified. It is determined that there is a strong relationship between consumers' willingness to fly, flight anxiety and COVID-19 threat perception.

Keywords

Consumer Behavior, Aviation Industry, Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Flight Anxiety, Willingness to Fly

COVID-19 Pandemisinin Havacılık Sektörüne Etkileri: Tüketicilerin Hava Yolculuğuna Yönelik Tutumları Üzerine Bir Araştırma

Abstract

Türkiye'de resmi olarak bildirilen ilk COVID-19 vakası 10 Mart 2020'deydi. O zamandan bu yana sayılar hızla artmış ve Kasım 2022 itibarıyla toplam 101.492 ölümle, 17 milyonu geçmiştir (T.C. Sağlık Bakanlığı, 2022). Virüsün son derece bulaşıcı özelliği ve koronavirüs hakkındaki yanlış anlamalar ile bağlantılı bu belirsizlik insanları rahatsız etmektedir. Bu durum yıllarca hissedilecek bireysel ve toplumsal düzeyde, olumsuz etkiler oluşturabilir. Bu etkilerden bazıları depresyon, anksiyete, travmatik stres ve koronavirüs korkusudur (Ahorsu vd., 2020). Ekonomik hayatı kısa sürede adeta durma noktasına getiren COVID-19 salgını, başta havacılık sektörü olmak üzere birçok sektörde ciddi riskler oluşturmaktadır. Çeşitli durumlarda tüketicilerinin uçma istekliliği üzerine yapılmış birçok çalışma vardır. Bununla birlikte, bugüne kadar bildiğimiz hiçbir çalışma, Türk havayolu tüketicilerinin COVID-19 salgını sırasında uçma istekli üzerine etkili faktörleri tanımlamamıştır. Bu araştırma ile COVID-19 sürecinde, havayolu tüketicilerinin uçma istekliliğini etkileyen bazı faktörlerin etkilerini ortaya koymak amaçlanmıştır. Belirlenen faktörler daha önce havayolu ile seyahat etmiş tüketiciler üzerinde test edilmiştir. Veriler anket tekniği ile elde edilmiştir. Araştırmada toplam 424 katılımcı yer almıştır. Veriler yapısal eşitli modeli ile analiz edilmiştir. Analiz sonuçları ile ortaya koyulan model, doğrulanmıştır. Tüketicilerin uçma istekliliği ile, uçuş kaygısı ve COVID-19 tehdit algısı arasından güçlü bir ilişki olduğu tespit edilmiştir.

Keywords

Tüketici Davranışları, Havacılık Sektörü, COVID-19 tehdit algısı, Uçuş kaygısı, Uçma İstekliliği

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