The effect of crew rostering policies on flight crew safety behaviours

Background: Flight and cabin crew are known to be at increased risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). However, ASCVD risks have not yet been compared in flight and cabin crew in low resource settings like sub-Saharan Africa. Objectives: To assess absolute ASCVD risk estimate and its clinical correlates among flight and cabin crew. Methods: From June 1st 2015 to December 30th 2015, 379 consecutive aviation navigants (Flight crew: 62.5%, pilots: 46.2%, women: 29.6%, Caucasians 23.2%) were enrolled in a cross-sectional survey of ASCVD risk estimate using the Framingham tools. They underwent a physical examination for either initial or renewal medical certificate Class 1 or 2 including blood chemistry, ECG, and echocardiogram as per International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA-DRC) medical regulations. We modeled the risk of moderate and high ASCVD estimate in a stepwise logistic regression. Results: Low, moderate and high ASCVD risk estimates were observed respectively in 248 (65.4%), 64 (16.9%), and 67 (17.7%) navigants. Moderate and high ASCVD risk estimates predominated among flight than cabin crew (23.6% vs. 5.6%; p 0.0001 and 28.3% vs. null;p 0.001), low ASCVD risk estimate among cabin than flight crew (94.4% vs. 48.1%; p ≤ 0.001). Low ASCVD risk estimates.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of the policies and implementation of the psychosocial safety climate within airlines on cabin crew member safety behaviors and satisfaction through virtual reality (VR) training, with the aim of ensuring safe flights. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study was conducted to validate the established hypotheses and research models by employing 353 cabin crew members within a domestic company that provides VR training. Empirical research was executed using the SPSS 25.0 statistical package for data analysis. Findings – This study found that the psychosocial safety climate positively impacts the safety behavior of cabin crew, which is enhanced through airline VR training. Essential factors that promote organizational safety activities include management support and commitment, management priorities, organizational communication, and organizational participation and involvement. Moreover, managing the stress of flight duty-related cabin crews significantly impacts the relationship between safety behavior and training satisfaction. VR training helps improve organizational safety, and organizational efforts seem to encourage the active participation of employees in providing an environment where safe flights can be carried out. Research Implications – This study suggests the necessity of expanding and applying training programs using VR, not limited to VR training for cabin crew members, also considering the job characteristics of other departments, such as pilots and maintenance personnel. Also, this research explores methods for effectively managing human resources in airline cabin crews in accordance with the changed training methods, and provides reference materials for effectively conducting VR training in the future.

Background: Increased competition in European aviation has led to cost-cutting measures and restructuring, resulting in more demanding psychosocial work environments for aircrew (pilots and cabin crew). Understanding how different combinations of psychosocial risks relate to mental health and safety behaviors could guide targeted interventions to enhance well-being and flight safety. Method: This cross-sectional study used self-report data collected in Europe in 2022 and examined combinations of self-rated psychosocial factors with mental health and safety behaviors among pilots (N=4960) and cabin crew (N=1684). Latent profile analyses were used to identify psychosocial work environment profiles, followed by statistical comparisons of organizational covariates, mental health (i.e. depression, anxiety, and fatigue), and safety behaviors, (i.e. presenteeism and self-disclosure of unfitness). Results: Among pilots and cabin crew, four profiles of the psychosocial work environment were identified: High-Flying, Roster Empowered, Collegially Supported, and Strained. Profiles reflecting suboptimal psychosocial environments reported poorer mental health, and safety behaviors. The Strained profile displayed a combination of poor mental health and lower willingness to self-disclose unfitness, suggesting a mental health non-disclosure cycle that could reinforce health and safety risks. Offering a minimum guaranteed pay, increasing roster influence, and strengthening collegial support emerged as potential organizational and psychosocial intervention areas.Conclusion: By focusing on health and safety in relation to the psychosocial work environment, we show that addressing psychosocial risks could be associated with dual benefits, enhancing occupational health, while simultaneously improving flight safety.Practical Application: The study offers practical insights into which organizational, and psychosocial factors may be targeted to improve mental health and safety behaviors among aircrew in Europe.

Federal Preemption of State Regulation Over Air Ambulances

Objectives. Commercial airlines' flight crew members on transmeridian long-haul flights are constantly exposed to rapid changes in external time. Following rapid changes in circadian rhythm may lead to several symptoms known as jet lag. Our aim was to alleviate jet-lag symptoms by timed exposure to bright light (natural sunlight if present, otherwise artificial bright light).Study Design. Observational field trial with bright light against jet lag.Methods. Information on the effects of bright lights on health was delivered through corporate level wellness programs. Volunteer study subjects were cabin crew members on long-haul flights. Subjects filled in a 16-Item Columbia Jet Lag Scale (maximum score 64) before the flight (expected symptoms based on previous flights), on the third day at the destination and again on the third day after returning home. Changes in scores were compared relative to the timed exposure to bright light, and to flights eastwards or westwards, and in summer or winter.Results. Out of 75 subjects, 15 returned the questionnaires for a total of 28 flights. The mean estimated effect of bright light was a decrease of 5.3 points on the symptom scale. The difference was not significant (SE = 3.4, df = 11, t = -1.6, p = 0.15). The flight had no influence on the estimate.Conclusions. The results do not give support to the hypothesis that timed exposure to bright light would alleviate jet lag symptoms, although the small sample size was a problem. More field studies are needed to establish the feasibility of bright light for reducing jet lag.

The aim of this study is to model the safety training, safety behavior and safety performance in selected oil and gas companies in Niger delta. Safety training was segregated into teaching and practical safety trainings. Safety behavior was captured using safety compliance and safety participation while safety performance is taken as accident occurrence. The study adopted inferential research design. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to sample five companies from the study area while Taro Yamane sample size formula was used to estimate 400 samples from the study population. Structured questionnaire, designed based on 5-point Likert scale, was used for data collection; Pearson correlation, regression and t-test were used for the analyses. The Pearson coefficient of the correlation analysis results revealed that the relationship between Teaching-based Safety Training and Practical-based Safety Training was the strongest (PC = 0.818), followed by the relationship with safety compliance (PC = 0.305) and lagging safety performance (PC = 0.174) while safety participation has the weakest correlation with teaching-based safety training (PC= 0.003). It was concluded that safety training has significant impact on safety behavior and safety performance. The t-test established that there is no significant difference between teaching-based and practical-based safety trainings in the sampled oil and gas firms in Niger-Delta. Teaching-based safety training has positive but insignificant impact on reduction of accident occurrence while practical-based safety training has positive and significant impact on reduction of accident occurrence. It is recommended that management of oil and gas firms should utilize complete safety training package in order to enhance both safety behavior and safety performance of their workers.

Measuring the effects of Safety Management System practices, morality leadership and self-efficacy on pilots’ safety behaviors: Safety motivation as a mediator

The purpose of this study is to verify the moderating effect of an airline's safety climate in the relationship between cabin safety environment and cabin crew’s safety behaviors. To meet this purpose, data were gathered from national and non-national airline's cabin crew. Firstly, the analysis of the cabin safety environment, safety behaviors and safety climate from the cabin crew’s perspective was carried out. Secondly, the relationship analysis between cabin safety environment and safety behaviors showed that the cabin safety environment had a significant influence on the safety behaviors. Thirdly, the moderating effect of safety climate between cabin safety environment and safety behaviors was verified. Fourthly, the analysis showed that according to the airline’s nationalty, the safety climate has a difference. Finally, the conclusions drawn from this study indicated that the cabin safety environment in the domestic airline is the main factor to improve cabin crew’s safety behaviors and should to promote the safety climate compared to non-national airlines.

Fatigue, workload, and health risks among aircraft crews on (ultra-)long-haul flights – a review Background: With the recovery of international air traffic after the COVID-19 pandemic, (ultra)long-haul flights ((U)LR) with flight times of over 16 hours are increasing again. These flights pose particular occupational health challenges for crew members. Fatigue is considered a key risk factor for loss of performance and therefore also indirectly jeopardizes flight safety. Aim: The aim of this narrative review is to describe work-related stress as well as the development, effects, and prevention options of fatigue in cockpit and cabin crews in the context of (U)LR flights. Methods: A selective literature search was conducted including current empirical studies, reviews, and international recommendations on fatigue, workload, and health risks in flight crews on (U)LR flights. Results: Fatigue during (U)LR flights is multifactorial, in particular due to sleep deprivation, prolonged wakefulness, circadian dysregulation, and high workload. Empirical studies show that both pilots and cabin crew on (U)LR flights often show clinically relevant symptoms of fatigue, which manifest themselves in reduced performance, concentration, and reaction time as well as increased susceptibility to errors. Fatigue is most pronounced during the circadian low and at the end of long duty periods. Chronic fatigue is associated with increased risks of mental disorders, sleep problems, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Countermeasures discussed include fatigue risk management systems, optimized duty schedules, strategic sleep breaks, melatonin and caffeine intake, and preventive training. Conclusion: Fatigue poses a relevant risk to the safety and health of onboard personnel in (U)LR operations. Evidence-based fatigue risk management, including both structural and individual measures, is crucial to ensure sustainable performance and safety. Further research is recommended, particularly on the effectiveness of specific interventions and on taking into account the particularities of cabin crew. Keywords: ultra-long-haul flights (ULR) – fatigue – pilots – cabin crew – flight safety – circadian rhythm – sleep – fatigue risk management

After the merger of PT Pelindo, PT Pelindo Terminal Petikemas became one of the sub-holding companies in containers. In maintaining consistency with the implementation of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) after the merger, PT Pelindo Terminal Petikemas needs to understand the importance of safety leadership, safety culture, safety behavior, and safety perfor­mance in the OHS program's success. The study aimed to determine the effect of safety leadership on safety culture and safety performance, the effect of safety culture and safety behavior on safety performance, and safety behavior to act as a mediation between safety leadership and safety performance, and safety culture on safety performance at PT Pelindo Terminal Petikemas. The samples of 130 employees are then analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with SmartPLS software. The results showed that safety leadership has a significant effect on safety culture and safety performance. Safety culture and safety behavior have a significant effect on safety performance. Safety behavior can mediate between safety culture and performance, while safety behavior cannot act as a mediation between safety leadership and performance. This research implies that PT Pelindo Terminal Petikemas's management can select several strong and trustworthy employees from each terminal who merge to lead initiatives regarding company safety and communicate with the central command.

This research focuses on flight crew fatigue and the improvement of a fatigue management methodology that helps in reducing fatigue for flight crew members, aiming to improve their well-being and overall aviation safety of flights. A thorough literature review established a foundation for understating fatigue and the available methodologies for fatigue management for flight crew members. To make the picture clearer, an empirical study was conducted, and it included surveys and interviews with flight crew members. The gathered data underwent detailed statistical and thematic analysis to identify key factors influencing fatigue among flight crew members. Findings revealed multiple contributors to the flight crew member fatigue. Using these insights, a fatigue management methodology is proposed, integrating real-world experiences with evidence-based strategies. The proposed methodology and the recommendations that were formed are relevant for a company management which is facing flight crew fatigue management issues.

Cabin attendants are mainly responsible for maintaining in-flight safety, and they are crucial to enhance air travel safety and alleviate passenger concerns. The objective of this study is to explore relationships between proactive personality, social support, safety climate and safety behaviors among cabin attendants. A self-assessment questionnaire was used to investigate a sample of 560 cabin attendants from China Southern Airlines Ltd. The results show that proactive personality and safety climate positively influence cabin attendants’ safety behaviors. Social support was found to weaken the positive effect of proactive personality on safety behaviors. Furthermore, social support and safety climate jointly moderate the relationship between proactive personality and safety behaviors, suggesting that this relationship is the strongest when the levels of social support and safety climate are both high. Theoretical and practical implications for researchers and practitioners in designing interventions and strategies to promote safety behaviors in an airline context are discussed.

In October 2024, the Court of Justice in Air Nostrum C-314/23 delivered a judgment on the issue of meal allowance for the flight and cabin crew of the Spanish airline Air Nostrum. The cabin crew (predominantly women) received a significantly lower daily subsistence allowance than the flight crew (predominantly men). The Court operationalised a formal equality approach in its decision. This article highlights three main issues involved in the case: broader interpretation of pay; indirect discrimination based on sex; as well as separate collective bargaining agreements for the flight and cabin crews. Lastly, it discusses the horizontal segregation in the aviation sector against the backdrop of this case. It highlights the manner in which the decision could have included the dimension of substantive equality taking into account such occupational segregation.

Flight deck crew alerting systems (FDCAS) (e.g., alert systems and technical documentation) are critical systems that aid flight crew members with situation awareness and executing decisions regarding system and flight path status. Information misinterpretation by English as a second language (ESL) flight crew members has been noted to impact communication on the flight deck. Some of these challenges are related to: comprehension of system status messages, spoken and written English on the flight deck, and decision-making processes regarding flight path status. This paper examined a series of interview schedule questions and responses from ESL airline pilots. Results from flight crew narratives indicated that ESL flight crew members' were challenged by the use of English written technical information. Challenges were related to alert displays, as well as associated written technical documentation [e.g., flight crew operating manual (FCOM)/quick reference handbook (QRH)] in normal/non-normal conditions.

The Effect of Blue Light Therapy on Flight Crew-Members Behavioral Alertness