Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental States of Airline Pilots in Turkey

Abstract

Mental state of airline pilots is of paramount importance with regard to flight safety. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic exposes individuals to psychological stressors, depression, and anxiety which are detrimental to the performance of airline pilots. While some research has been carried out on the psychological effect of COVID-19 pandemic among various groups including students, healthcare workers, and general public, no research has been found that explored the psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak among airline pilots to the best of authors’ knowledge. With these consideration in mind, the aim of this study is set out to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on airline pilots’ mental state. A cross-sectional study was designed. A 50-items questionnaire was administrated online. The questionnaire included demographic items, 18 items regarding psychological states of participants, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 Scale (DASS-21). The response rate was 40%. It was found that 63.2% (N=127) of the participants had various levels of depression, 57.2% (N=115) had anxiety, and 76.6% (N=154) were stressed. Results showed that 44.3% of the participants had contact with COVID-19 suspected/ diagnosed patients. The findings of this study may help airlines and aviation authorities to take preventive and protective psychological measures against COVID-19 outbreak and can improve aviation safety.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• aviation
• airline pilots
• stress
• depression

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