Aviation Authority Research Articles

Long-term audit staff scheduling and planning: A case study of Brazilian civil aviation authority

This paper provides a customized optimization approach for the long-term audit staff scheduling problem of aviation approved training organizations (ATO) in Brazil. We formulate the problem as a set covering problem by considering both auditors’ assignments and ATO’s arrangements to minimize the total cost of staff traveling. However, the developed formulation is difficult to solve for real-world instances due to the exponential number of decision variables. Further, the formulation is inflexible enough to incorporate peculiarities of each real-world problem. Towards decreasing the problem complexity, allowing to incorporate several real features, a two-phase method is proposed. First, we group the companies to be audited in fewer groups as possible, generating fewer travels. Second, we assign auditors to the groupings of companies generated. A case study is conducted with real data from the Brazilian Civil Aviation Authority regarding audits conducted on aviation organizations. The results show the model can be used during the planning phase of audits, including scenario analysis with different parameters to support decision-makers.

A critical analysis of the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s medical appeals process: Assessing the need for an independent medical ombudsman

The aim of this research was to determine how an independent medical ombudsman set up to arbitrate UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) medical appeals would impact on the levels of perceived clarity, transparency, fairness, and logic of the overall CAA medical appeals process. 24 in-depth interviews carried out in 2021 with a mix of stakeholders including Pilots, Air Traffic Controllers (ATC), Cabin Crew, Aeromedical Examiners (AMEs) and Safety Specialists gathered qualitative evidence on the current CAA medical appeals process compared with published evidence on medical appeals processes overseen by other major aviation regulators, namely the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA - US), and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA - Australia). Stakeholders were then asked to give their views on the possible impact of creating an independent medical ombudsman to arbitrate the CAA medical appeals process. The results revealed compelling evidence that the current CAA process is not as clear, fair, or transparent as it could be with only 21% stating yes to all three elements, lower than views on the currently published CASA and FAA processes, with 83% and 75% supporting them as they are respectively. The easy-to-follow approach of CASA, and its many independent options along with the ability for individuals to make a Statement of Demonstrated Ability (SODA) as part of the FAA process were standout features of the international comparators. The idea of an independent medical ombudsman received high levels of support from respondents (91% in favour) due to its perceived impact on introducing more independence and transparency into the current UK CAA process. The findings of this study support the case for an independent arbitrator of the CAAs medical appeals process, which would align well with the organisation's critical work around Just Culture.

Development of an Organisational Certification Process for Specific Category Drone Operations

To govern and ensure the safety of increasing drone operations, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has defined three risk-based categories of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations. A large part of commercial UAS operations fall into the Specific category, which includes operations with medium risk that require an authority approval. One possible way to gain approval for these operations is the light UAS operator certificate (LUC) awarded by a national aviation authority. It offers organisations the privilege to assess and approve operations without applying for authorisation from an authority. However, only general information regarding the LUC is available in the European regulatory publications. Thus, there is currently a lack of detailed guidelines and practical information about the process and requirements for acquiring LUC status. This paper describes the development of a LUC application process model following a design science research approach. The model supports organisations to assess their LUC capabilities, develop their organisation, create the documentation to fulfil relevant requirements, and to apply for the certificate. Finally, the results of a case study where the process model was applied are presented.

Easy Risk Assessment for Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Outline of the Method

Abstract The key element of safety systems in air transport is risk management. The rules for the safety of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations are established by the Commission Implementing regulations (European Union [EU]) and national regulations. Risk assessment is the foundation of all activities. The broadest scope is covered by the special category of flights for which the Joint Authorities for rulemaking on Unmanned Systems (JARUS) developed the Specific Operations risk Assessment (SORA) analysis. The primary purpose of the SORA analysis is to create a comprehensive safety portfolio, which is attached to the National Aviation Authority (NAA) application for permission to perform specific category flights. Aviation authorities may accept the use of other risk analysis methods to demonstrate risk reduced to a safe level. Easy risk Assessment (erA) for UASs is an attempt to determine the risk for UAS flights in a simple way by considering a range of factors influencing risk management in a similar way to the SORA. It is an uncomplicated method, which determines threats and their sources, provides risk management, and allows the determination of the level of risk tolerance. The ERA is intended to be an alternative to the SORA methodology for those looking to carry out risk assessment.

Level-offs in terminal areas and path stretches: Empirically estimating extra fuel burn rates in commercial aviation

Improvements in air traffic management (ATM) and aircraft operations can have significant impacts on reducing jet fuel consumption. Although there are studies concerned with estimating this potential benefit, isolating the impacts of ATM inefficiencies on a certain air network is yet a complex task that relies on privately-owned data on aircraft performances and operational parameters, and assumptions regarding ideal and feasible flight paths, which may hamper proper monitoring by all stakeholders involved. To tackle those limitations, we propose a statistical approach based on public data of actual flights. Using econometric techniques, we estimated extra fuel burn rates due to path stretch and level segments inside origin and destination terminal areas. We applied the proposed methodology to the 20 most flown routes of the Brazilian domestic market in two different periods, covering 44 days in 2017 and 60 days in 2019. The results indicate that the model is capable of isolating the impacts of path stretch and level segments inside origin and destination terminal areas on the fuel consumption of the air network analyzed. Considering the 2019 sample as a reference, our estimates indicate that if all flights analyzed could fly great circle paths with continuous climbs and descents with the same operational parameters as those flights that could do so, the average potential savings would be between 189-231 L, mainly driven by horizontal inefficiency of descents. For vertical inefficiencies in terminal airspace, results indicate average potential savings per flight of about 4 L with continuous climbs and 20 L with continuous descents, if trajectories could reach the sample best performers, and considering the upper limit of the estimates. This study may help air navigation service providers, aviation authorities, airlines, and airports in monitoring ATM inefficiencies to prioritize operational improvement efforts, air traffic flow management (ATFM) measures, and technology investments.

Passenger-Centric Slot Allocation at Schedule-Coordinated Airports

Schedule coordination is the primary form of demand management used at busy airports. At its core, slot allocation involves a highly complex combinatorial problem. In response, optimization models have been developed to minimize the displacement of flight schedules from airline requests, subject to physical and administrative constraints. Existing approaches, however, may not result in the best itineraries for passengers. This paper proposes an original passenger-centric approach to airport slot allocation to maximize available itineraries and minimize connecting times. Because of the uncertainty regarding passenger demand, the proposed approach combines predictive analytics to forecast passenger flows in flight networks from historical data and prescriptive analytics to optimize airport slot assignments in view of flight-centric and passenger-centric considerations. The problem is formulated as a mixed-integer nonconvex optimization model. To solve it, we propose an approximation scheme that alternates between flight-scheduling and passenger-accommodation modules and embed it into a large-scale neighborhood search algorithm. Using real-world data from the Singapore Changi and Lisbon Airports, we show that the proposed model and algorithm return solutions in acceptable computational times. Results suggest that slot-allocation outcomes can be made much more consistent with passenger flows at a relatively small cost in terms of flight displacement. Ultimately, this paper provides a new paradigm that can create more attractive flight schedules by bringing together airport-level considerations, airline-level considerations, and, for the first time, passenger-level considerations. Funding: Financial support from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore [Project on Airfield Management and Economics] is gratefully acknowledged. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2022.1165 .

Assessment of Avian Biodiversity and Bird strikes to Aircrafts at Bacha Khan International Airport, Peshawar KP, Pakistan

Birds inside or outside the airport is big threat to the aircraft. The main objective of this study was toidentify hazards of bird species, population density and richness of birds around BACHA KHANINTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. The methods being used were point count/vantage point method for thepopulation estimation. The Study was based upon two sites (Site A Airport Premises) spreading over anarea of 30 acres and (Site B which is within Airport) spreading over an area of 7.5 Acres. Total Samplingpoints (Observation Points) were 120 and every sampling point was visited for 15-20 minutes and birdswere counted for three to five minutes in a fixed radius. Transact line method spreading over 500 meterswas used to analyze the data. Birds were observed every 100 meters. Primary and Secondary data wascollected using questionnaire. The study identified the reasons for Bird Air strikes at the Airport and exploredpossible mitigation measures of avian hazards in Peshawar airport premises. This data will be useful forthe aviation authorities in preparing managed bird control program. In this study hypothesis were given incomparison with other attractants tree attracts more birds in Peshawar Airport. Averages of 30 specieswere observed in Site A and 15 in Site B monthly respectively. The highest Relative Abundance observed atSite A was of House Crow species which is 16.8463612% and in Site B Kite species with relative abundance21.4953271%. The Highest number of Bird strike occurred at Runway followed by strikes outside the fencewith reference to Bird strike report 2021-22. Pigeon and Doves were observed in Flight over the airportpremises. 36 Bird’s diversity observed around airport in rainfall and cloud cover assessed through Shannondiversity index as 3.024 which indicate good diversity of birds in the study area which might be a potentialthreat to the aircraft? The study revealed that effective management plan should also be taken intoconsideration. The Population density of Site A outside the airport premises (30 Acres) is 24.13/Acre andfor Site B within Airport which is 7.5 Acres is 14.2/Acre respectively.

Development of a framework for improving the turnaround time of the application process at the South African Civil Aviation Authority

Drones are considered to become more significant as technology develops and be used in creative ways. The aim of this paper is to develop a framework to improve the turnaround time (TAT) of the drone application process at South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA). According to some of the drone companies, application process of drone approval takes time to complete. These delays impact negatively to drone companies in South Africa. Drone operators were interviewed, and the current status of the application process was captured. Thirteen drone operators were interviewed using a structured set of questionnaires. Results show that application process is not well implemented and that the structure does not create a positive outcome to the South African drone industry. Findings indicate that the average turnaround time to complete the approval process is long, and it is time consuming. The framework to improve the current turnaround time of the application process was developed. The proposed framework consists of three techniques (process activities improvement, capacity enhancement and process redesign). The proposed framework can be used as a guide to improve the situation at SACAA. .

THE PERSPECTIVES OF THE AIR TRANSPORT MARKET IN TURKEY DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

In this study, the situation of the Turkish aviation industry during COVID-19 was examined. Turkish aviation industry entered a rapid growth phase in the 21st century, great developments were achieved in aviation with the investments made, and the share received from the world aviation industry grew day by day. However, this growth has been hit hard by the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. There have been great losses in passenger and freight transport. It is considered that the compensation of these losses will take a long time. In addition, in this study, the steps taken by the aviation authority and aviation companies to prevent the pandemic and to reduce its effects for the COVID-19 pandemic were evaluated.

UAV tracking module proposal based on a regulative comparison between manned and unmanned aviation

Purpose: The aim of this study is twofold. First is to compare manned and unmanned aviation regulations in the context of IACO Annexes to identify potential deficiencies in the international UAV legislations. Second is to propose a UAV monitoring module work flow as a solution to identified deficiencies in the international UAV regulations.Design/methodology/approach: In the present study, firstly the regulations used in manned aviation were summarized in the context of ICAO Annexes. Then along with an overview of the use of UAVs, international UAV regulations have been reviewed with a general perspective. In addition, a comparison was made on whether contents of ICAO Annexes find a place in common international UAV regulations in order to understand areas to be developed in the international UAV regulations, and to better understand the different principles between manned and unmanned air transport. In the last section, we present a UAV tracking module (UAVTram) in line with the above-mentioned comparison between manned and unmanned aviation and the identified deficiencies in the international UAV regulations.Findings: The international UAV regulations should be developed on the basis of airport airspace use, detection, liabilities, sanctions of violations, and updating of regulation. Proposed UAVTram has potential to offer real-time tracking and detection of UAVs as a solution to malicious use of UAVs.Research limitations/implications: Our study is not exempt from limitations. Firstly, we didn’t review all UAV regulations because it needs a considerable amount of efforts to check out all the UAV regulations pertinent to different areas of the world. It is the same case for manned aviation as we used only ICAO Annexes to contextually compare with UAV regulations.Practical implications: From the practical perspective, studies introducing new technologies such as systems that help detection of remote pilots causing trouble and agile defense systems will give valuable insights to remove individual UAV threats.Originality/value: We didn’t find any study aiming to compare manned and unmanned aviation rules in search of finding potential deficiencies in the UAV regulations. Our study adopts such an approach. Moreover, our solution proposal here uses Bluetooth 5.0 technology mounted on stationary transmitters which provides more effective range with higher data transfer. Another advantage is that this work is projected to be supported by Turkish civil aviation authority, DGCA. This may accelerate efforts to make required real-time tests.

Avian diversity and bird-aircraft strike problems in Bahir Dar International Airport, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

BackgroundBahir Dar International Airport and its surrounding habitats are known for their rich avifaunal diversity, which results in bird-aircraft collisions as a fundamental problem in the area. A study on bird diversity and bird-aircraft strikes at Bahir Dar International Airport was conducted between February 2020 and August 2020. Based on its vegetation structures, the study area was classified into four habitat types namely; bushland, grassland, wetland, and modified habitats. Transect and point count methods were used to collect data on avian diversity and abundance. Questionnaire surveys, interviews, and document analysis were used to gather information about incidents and protection measures against bird-aircraft strike problems. Shannon–Wiener diversity index, Simpson’s similarity index, ANOVA, and chi-square test were used for data analysis.ResultsA total of 80 avian species belonging to 15 orders and 40 families were identified in the study area. The highest species diversity (H’ = 3.59) and species evenness (E = 0.96) were recorded in modified habitats during the wet season. Relative abundance categories of birds in the study area showed that most were uncommon birds. Birds pose severe threats to aircraft in the airport and 92.3% of the respondents replied that most bird-aircraft strikes occurred early in the morning and late in the afternoon when birds remain more active. The majority (88.5%) of questionnaire participants confirmed that bird-aircraft strike incidents frequently occurred during the time of takeoff and landing of the aircraft. It is also known that on average forty bird-aircraft collisions per year happen at the airport.ConclusionBahir Dar International Airport is rich in its bird diversity that recalls the aviation authority to work in collaboration with different organizations to avoid bird-aircraft strike problems using different control measures without compromising the conservation of birds.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK OF COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAVs) IN MALAYSIA

The development of agriculture in Malaysia is expanding from conventional methods to the latest technology of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The potential of the operation of UAVs in the agriculture sector in Malaysia has enforced the Civil Aviation Authority Malaysia (CAAM) by the power given in the Civil Aviation Act 1969, to come out with the first directive designed specifically for UAVs in agriculture. It contains the proper guidelines and safety procedures of the said operation. This article is aimed to analyse and examine the legal framework of the Civil Aviation Directive 6011 Part II (CAD 6011 Part (II) – UAS AGR) set by the CAAM in administering the operation of UAV agriculture. As a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Malaysia is obliged to develop its national regulations based on the Chicago convention and the International Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs). This article will adopt the doctrinal research by referring to the current directive of CAAM, current laws, and regulations as enforced in Malaysia in administering the extensive operation of UAVs in agriculture. Further, this article is aimed to analyse safety, risk assessment, and liabilities vis-à-vis the UAV agriculture. In brief, the operation of UAVs in agriculture is a part of CAAM’s mission towards the integration of manned and unmanned aircraft into the navigable airspace in line with the mission of ICAO together for the sustainability of the economy and the efficiency of the industry to cope with the development of digital and technology.

The role of flight simulation in flight training of pilots for crisis management

Every day over 102.000 commercial passenger flights take place on a global scale above our heads. Because of that many questions arise in the areas of safety and security in massive air traffic. If airlines use crisis management, any activity concerning the preparation of the crew and the aircraft for a particular task - flight gets more significance and importance. During the flight, the pilot - the captain of the aircraft, is the key person of any company activity that includes transport of people and goods, and that is the reason why a pilot's psycho-physical abilities and flying performance must be constantly checked, evaluated and improved. In a plane crash near North Macedonia's capital city Skopje, the aviation investigators discovered the number of serious failures in pilot training that led to the fall of a private plane Cessna 340. The investigation revealed that although the pilot was certificated to fly in instrument meteorological conditions, his actions in the air indicate that he was not well trained. European and American aviation authorities have clear legal regulations regarding the training and certification for individual flight categories as well as a categorized simulation technique where pilots exercise before they get one of the flying categories. Flight simulators play an essential role in the training of the future pilots for both visual and instrumental flight conditions

Flight delay prediction from spatial and temporal perspective

In this paper, we propose a novel prediction framework (ST-Random Forest) for flight delay prediction from temporal and spatial perspective. We first apply complex network theory to extract the spatial feature of the aviation network at edge-, node-, and network-level. Furthermore, considering the temporal correlation of weather condition and airport crowdedness on flight delays, we create a prediction framework based on LSTM units to extract the temporal property of crowdedness and weather condition. Finally, we use the factors (e.g., spatial, temporal and extrinsic) that affect flight delays as inputs and apply Random Forest as classifier to predict flight delays. We apply and test our approach in a case study at China domestic flights between Jun and Aug 2016; after evaluation, we find that the accuracy of our proposed model reaches 92.39%. For the on-time samples, approximately 86% are correct identified; for the delayed samples, the classification accuracy reaches 95%. The ST-Random Forest model contributes to aviation authorities and airport regulators by creating real-time monitoring and high accuracy prediction system to alleviate flight delays and providing insightful suggestions to develop effective air traffic control strategies.

Comparison between Automated and Manual Detection of Lava Fountains from Fixed Monitoring Thermal Cameras at Etna Volcano, Italy

The Etna volcano is renowned worldwide for its extraordinary lava fountains that rise several kilometers above the vent and feed eruptive columns, then drift hundreds of kilometers away from the source. The Italian Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia-Osservatorio Etneo (INGV-OE) is responsible for the monitoring of Mt. Etna, and for this reason, has deployed a network of visible and thermal cameras around the volcano. From these cameras, INGV-OE keeps a keen eye, and is able to observe the eruptive activity, promptly advising the civil protection and aviation authorities of any changes, as well as quantifying the spread of lava flows and the extent of pyroclastic and ash plumes by using a careful analysis of the videos recorded by the monitoring cameras. However, most of the work involves analysis carried out by hand, which is necessarily approximate and time-consuming, thus limiting the usefulness of these results for a prompt hazard assessment. In addition, the start of lava fountains is often a gradual process, increasing in strength from Strombolian activity, to intermediate explosive activity, and eventually leading to sustained lava fountains. The thresholds between these different fields (Strombolian, Intermediate, and lava fountains) are not clear cut, and are often very difficult to distinguish by a manual analysis of the images. In this paper, we presented an automated routine that, when applied to thermal images and with good weather conditions, allowed us to detect (1) the starting and ending time of each lava fountain, (2) the area occupied by hot pyroclasts, (3) the elevation reached by the lava fountains over time, and (4) eventually, to calculate in real-time the erupted volume of pyroclasts, giving results close to the manual analysis but more focused on the sustained portion of the lava fountain, which is also the most dangerous. This routine can also be applied to other active volcanoes, allowing a prompt and uniform definition of the timing of the lava fountain eruptive activity, as well as the magnitude and intensity of the event.

Mixed analysis-synthesis approach for estimating airport noise from civil air traffic

This paper presents an important upgrade of a modelling tool devised by the authors for estimating aircraft noise around civil airports, which is based on a best-practice noise computation method and flight tracking data collected from the Internet and complemented by datasets of aircraft models, runways, and terrain elevation. Targeting more accurate noise predictions , the upgraded model introduces reasoned degrees of freedom in the standard flight procedures, and the tracked altitudes and speeds of each flight event are used to fit these modified procedures, which leads to an original mixed analysis-synthesis approach. Additional improvements include better runway assignment and consideration of actual weather conditions. Comparison of July 2019 results with official data for Heathrow, Gatwick and Schiphol airports shows an improved noise prediction, with an average underestimation lowered to 1.5 dB(A) for exposure-based metrics. Therefore, this upgraded modelling tool can be a reliable support to civil aviation authorities and policy-makers.

Modern methods of preventing aircraft overrunning the runway

The landing of the aircraft has always been the most challenging and dangerous stage of the flight. In order to make a safe landing, the aircraft (A/C) requires reducing the vertical (at the stage of flare-out) and horizontal (prior to touchdown) components of the aircraft's flight speed vector, which in turn reduces the capabilities to increase lift and limits the crew's ability to perform maneuvers. At the same time, during landing the crew must align the aircraft with the runway (RW) and make a touchdown, subsequent A/C landing roll and stop within a rather limited area, which eventually and particularly, under the effect of contributing adverse factors (piloting errors, wind shear, icing, engine failure, aquaplaning, etc.) can cause the aircraft to overshoot and overrun the RW. Currently, as the analysis of aviation accidents statistics shows, the issue of preventing and alerting aircraft overrun is quite relevant. The search for a solution, in terms of preventing aircraft overrunning the runway (RW), is conducted as at the level of aviation authorities as among aircraft manufacturers, operators. Within the framework of this review, an attempt is made to identify and analyze the key factors affecting the dynamics of aircraft motion during landing, using information about aviation accidents that have occurred over the past few years. Notably, such aspects as a human factor and technical features of the operation of modern jet aircraft, influencing the A/C landing roll, are considered. In addition, special attention is paid to consider the methods of prevention and warning of A/C overrun with highlighting the approaches of passive and active protection. Within the framework of the analysis of active protection techniques, the principles of on-board avionic systems operation of the most major aircraft manufacturers, such as Boeing and Airbus, are considered. As an example of the passive protection, the experience of using special energy-absorbing destructible blocks installed next to the runway threshold, is analyzed.

The mental health of ab-initio pilots during the COVID-19 pandemic

The novel coronavirus disease- 2019 (COVID-19) is a major health crisis that has affected several nations and the life of millions to date. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of COVID-19 on student pilots. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study has been performed on the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental status of ab-initio pilots. As a cross-sectional study, a self-administered 48-item survey was conducted among ab-initio pilots. A total of 108 ab-initio pilots completed the survey. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale - 21 (DASS-21) was used to assess the mental health of the ab-initio pilots. Independent-samples t-test and one-way ANOVA were performed to explore contributing factors associated with the presence of depression, stress and anxiety. Based on the findings, 24% of the ab-initio pilots had anxiety on varying levels. 44.2% of the participants were depressed. Varying levels of stress were detected in 45% of the ab-initio pilots. Vulnerability, working conditions, isolation, social and mass media and the lack of job opportunities were factors associated with stress, anxiety and depression among the ab-initio pilots. This study showed that depression, anxiety and stress were prevalent among the ab-initio pilots who were included in the study, and the participants were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The mental health of ab-initio pilots needs the urgent attention of aviation authorities and experts. This study contributes to the current literature on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and may make noteworthy contributions to aviation safety.

Under-Reporting of Self-Reported Medical Conditions in Aviation: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

BACKGROUND: The applicants' self-declaration of medical history is crucial for safety. Some evidence indicates that under-reporting of medical conditions exists. However, the magnitude in a population of aviation personnel has not been reported earlier.METHODS: A total of 9941 applicants for medical certificate/attestation for aviation-related safety functions during the last 5 yr up to December 2019 were registered at the Civil Aviation Authority Norway. E-mail addresses were known for 9027 of these applicants, who were invited to participate in a web-based survey.RESULTS: Among the 1616 respondents, 726 (45%) were commercial pilots, 457 (28%) private pilots, 272 (17%) air traffic controllers, and the remaining were cabin crew or crew in aerodrome/helicopter flight information service (AFIS or HFIS, respectively). A total of 108 were initial applicants. The age group 50+ constituted the largest proportion of respondents (53%). Aeromedical certification in general was believed to improve flight safety "to a high" or "very high extent" by 64% of the respondents. A total of 188 individuals (12%) admitted having under-reported information related to one or more categories, including mental (3%) or physical health (4%), medications (2%), and drug use, including alcohol use (5%). Among these, 21 participants believed their own under-reporting "to some" or "to a high extent" affected flight safety. In total 50% of noninitial applicants reported that they knew colleagues who had under-reported information. Analyses revealed that being a commercial pilot showed a higher risk for under-reporting compared with other classes and the perception of aeromedical examiners in a supportive or authoritative role reduced the risk.CONCLUSIONS: Under-reporting of medical conditions could be significant in aviation. Further studies should be conducted to investigate the true extent of under-reporting and its impact on flight safety and what mitigating measures might be recommended.Strand T-E, Lystrup N, Martinussen M. Under-reporting of self-reported medical conditions in aviation: a cross-sectional survey. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2022; 93(4):376-383.

BI-OBJECTIVE GOAL PROGRAMMING FOR AIRLINE CREW PAIRING

The crew cost constitutes 20% of the direct operating cost in airline operations after the aircraft fuel cost. Effective crew scheduling can save tens of millions of dollars to the airlines and result in low-cost flight tickets for the passengers and improved quality of life for the crew. The crew pairing requires addressing union expectations, company rules, regulations of countries' civil aviation authorities. In this study, bi-objective goal programming is proposed to minimize the number of crew to perform flights and minimize the flight pairings cost while addressing the challenging issues mentioned above. The integer set-covering goal programming model is formulated and solved using GAMS mathematical programming software. The results showed that the bi-objective model could provide significant cost advantages to airlines. The computational experiments have been performed over a set of real data.