International Air Transport Association Research Articles

Preparing for Ebolavirus disease: specimen collection, packaging and transport

Ebolavirus is classified by Standards Australia as a Risk Group 4 pathogen for handling in laboratories. Specimens known or reasonably expected to contain Ebolavirus are classified by the United Nations as Dangerous Goods Infectious Substances Category A, UN 2814, which if transported by air must comply with International Air Transport Association (IATA) Hazard Class 6.2 and Packing Instruction 620 and Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) Regulations. As such high risk pathogens are rarely encountered in pathology laboratories in Australia, the possibility of an imported case of Ebolavirus disease occurring in NSW during the current ongoing outbreak which began in West Africa in 2014 prompted a review and rapid implementation of specific risk management protocols for Ebolavirus testing. Here we describe and report on the management of specimen collection, packaging and transport by public and private pathology laboratories agreed by a task force led by NSW Health Pathology and Health Protection NSW.

Alkali–Silica Reaction Identification and Remediation at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport

AbstractNorthwest Arkansas Regional Airport (International Air Transport Association Code, XNA) opened in 1998. XNA is a regional airport serving the northwest Arkansas area. Alkali silica reaction (ASR) was detected at XNA’s runway 16/34 in 2002, and in 2012 the runway was closed for replacement. The airport includes a single runway; therefore, runway replacement required the construction of a temporary alternate landing surface (ALS). Consequently, costs related to the premature runway replacement were substantial. XNA is experiencing significant pavement distress caused by ASR. Therefore, in addition to the runway, taxiways and apron areas will require replacement. The article reviews ASR, causes of ASR at XNA, and a preliminary investigation to develop a remediation approach to ASR at XNA. For ASR remediation, the authors are investigating various surface sealants for their effectiveness to retard ASR, to provide XNA operators additional time before future pavement replacement is warranted.

Artificially designed pathogens – a diagnostic option for future military deployments

Diagnostic microbial isolates of bio-safety levels 3 and 4 are difficult to handle in medical field camps under military deployment settings. International transport of such isolates is challenging due to restrictions by the International Air Transport Association. An alternative option might be inactivation and sequencing of the pathogen at the deployment site with subsequent sequence-based revitalization in well-equipped laboratories in the home country for further scientific assessment.A literature review was written based on a PubMed search.First described for poliovirus in 2002, de novo synthesis of pathogens based on their sequence information has become a well-established procedure in science. Successful syntheses have been demonstrated for both viruses and prokaryotes. However, the technology is not yet available for routine diagnostic purposes.Due to the potential utility of diagnostic sequencing and sequence-based de novo synthesis of pathogens, it seems worthwhile to establish the technology for diagnostic purposes over the intermediate term. This is particularly true for resource-restricted deployment settings, where safe handling of harmful pathogens cannot always be guaranteed.

Oppose, Support, or Hedge? Distributional Effects, Regulatory Pressure, and Business Strategy in Environmental Politics

What explains the choice of corporate political strategy in environmental politics? Drawing on recent models of actor strategy formation in political economy, this article argues that basic material interests of firms are translated into strategies in the context of institutional environments. I advance a typological model that posits how distributional effects—positive versus negative—and perceived regulatory pressure—low versus high—interact in leading firms to adopt one of four ideal-type strategies: opposition, hedging, support, and non-participation. This article examines the model through the case of corporate strategies in the making of the European Union’s Emission Trading Scheme. The article contributes to theory-building on business strategy in environmental politics by offering a probabilistic explanatory model, and it flags hedging strategies as an increasingly prevalent form of business behavior.

Influenza A and B Viruses but Not MERS-CoV in Hajj Pilgrims, Austria, 2014.

To the Editor: The World Health Organization recommends that persons who return from pilgrimages to the Middle East with acute severe respiratory infections be tested to determine the cause of infection; the aim is to identify infections with the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which have been occurring in Saudi Arabia since 2012. Each year, >2.5 million persons from >180 countries, including 240,000 pilgrims from Europe, participate in Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The gathering of mass numbers of persons during the Hajj increases the risk for the spread of respiratory infections among participants, and this risk has raised global concern that travelers returning from this pilgrimage could contribute to the international spread of MERS-CoV. During the 2012 and 2013 Hajj and Umrah (a minor pilgrimage) pilgrimages, no MERS cases in pilgrims were reported (1,2). However, in 2014, cases of MERS-CoV infection were confirmed in 2 returning pilgrims in the Netherlands (3). The International Health Regulations Emergency Committee advised all countries to improve awareness about MERS-CoV among pilgrims and to conduct surveillance for MERS-CoV among pilgrims during and after Hajj (4). According to data from the International Air Transport Association, Austria received an estimated 68,000 air travelers from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates during June–November 2012 (a period encompassing 1 month before Ramadan and 1 month after the Hajj) (5); of these travelers, 1,000 were pilgrims performing the Hajj. Relatively constant travel volumes to Austria on commercial flights out of these countries during 2010–July 2014 have been confirmed by an analysis of air traffic statistics for Austria (A. Herndler, M. Rudolf, pers. comm.). We report on the investigation of illness among Austrian residents just after their return home from the 2014 Hajj pilgrimage, which ended in early October. As of October 27, 2014, a total of 7 Hajj pilgrims from Austria had sought medical care in different Austrian hospitals/medical centers just after returning from Saudi Arabia. The patients had fever and/or respiratory symptoms. A summary of the patients’ characteristics is presented in the Table. Of the 7 patients, 4 had cough, 1 had dyspnea, and 4 had fever. Patients 1, 2, and 7 had an acute febrile illness and clinical and/or radiologic evidence of pulmonary parenchymal disease. Patient 1 had sought medical care in Saudi Arabia, and patient 2 had been hospitalized for 10 days in Saudi Arabia. Table Characteristics of pilgrims who returned from the Hajj with acute respiratory illness and detectable virus in respiratory specimens, Austria, 2014* For the diagnosis of viral infection, a serum sample and a sputum, throat swab, or bronchoalveolar lavage sample were collected and sent to the Department of Virology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria, for analysis. All samples were tested for MERS-CoV by using reverse transcription PCR targeting regions upstream of the envelope gene (6). Respiratory and serum samples from all 7 patients were negative for MERS-CoV. The respiratory samples were also tested for influenza A and B viruses and for rhinoviruses, as previously described (7–9). Of the 7 patients, 3 were positive for influenza B virus, 2 for influenza A(H3N2) virus, and 2 for rhinoviruses (Table). Subsequent phylogenetic analysis showed that the influenza A(H3N2) strains belonged to the A/Hong Kong/146/2013-like viruses and the influenza B strains belonged to the B/Phuket/3073/2013-like viruses of the Yamagata lineage, both of which are subtype H3N2 and B strains included in the 2014–15 seasonal influenza vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere. Our results showed that MERS-CoV was not detected in any of these patients, and our findings support those from reports investigating illness among 2013 Hajj pilgrims (2). Our data indicate that all patients had a respiratory virus infection, and 5 of the 7 patients were infected with influenza virus. Six of the patients had not received seasonal influenza vaccine before traveling; for the seventh patient, influenza vaccine uptake data were not available. In 2014 in Austria, the incidence of influenza-like illnesses was below the epidemic threshold during weeks 40–43: no cases of influenza were reported by the National Influenza Surveillance network, Austria (http://www.influenza.at). Therefore, it is likely that these 7 patients became infected while at the Hajj, as reported for patients during previous Hajj seasons (10), or while traveling through international airports. Our preliminary data indicate that influenza virus infection was the cause of severe respiratory illness in 5 of 7 Austrian pilgrims returning from the 2014 Hajj. Because influenza is a serious and potentially life-threatening illness, seasonal influenza vaccination is recommended for Hajj pilgrims. Accurate and rapid testing for MERS-CoV and other respiratory viruses, including influenza, is essential for identifying persons who may be contagious and for timely and effective antiviral drug treatment and, thus, should be considered for pilgrims with severe respiratory illness.

Assessing potential airlines and the risk of Ebolavirus importation from west African countries into China

A public health emergency of international concern regarding the 2014 West African Ebola epidemic was declared by the World Health Organization on August 8, 2014, in view of its potential for further international spread. Based on historic traveller flight itinerary data between October and December 2013 from the International Air Transport Association, we assessed the potential risk of Ebola virus exportation from three West African Countries, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, into China via commercial air travel between October 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014. We found 107,113 passengers departed from the three affected countries during the fourth quarter of 2013, with 3167 people (3.0%) arriving in mainland China after transfers at the international airports of eight countries, including France, Belgium, and the U.A.E. The primary airports of entry into China for travelers from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone are located in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Chongqing, and Dalian, whereas the main final destinations in China include Beijing, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Wuhan, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Wenzhou. With the assumption that travel behavior and mobility in the fourth quarter of 2014 will be the same as that of 2013, an average of 2235 international travellers would need to be screened at the points of entry into China to capture one traveler with potential exposure to Ebola virus in the three West African countries. In total, our model projects only 0.54 travellers infected with Ebola virus departing the above three countries entering China via commercial flights from October to December 2014 (0.35 infected travellers from Liberia, 0.16 from Sierra Leone, and 0.03 from Guinea). If the incidence of Ebola virus disease increases or the number of travellers to China decreases, the number of travellers with Ebola virus infection would fluctuate accordingly. This study shows that the risk of Ebola imported from West Africa to China via commercial air travel exists, although it is very low. China could support screening of departing international travellers from West Africa for the early detection of individuals with Ebola virus disease, screen high-risk traveller populations at the primary points of entry into China, and heighten surveillance in Chinas leading destination cities.

Developmental Aspects of Regional Airports in the Czech Republic

This paper aims to compare the developmental aspects of regional airports in the Czech Republic. Only international airports were included in the selection, namely airports with an IATA code (IATA – International Air Transport Association). The following factors affected the selection of airports: air transport volume and the runway length. All public international airports with scheduled and non-scheduled commercial traffic have been included in the selection, these airports being The Brno – Tuřany Airport (BRQ), Leoš Janáček Airport Ostrava (OSR), Pardubice Airport (PED) and Karlovy Vary Airport (KLV). The list intentionally excludes the Vaclav Havel Airport (PRG), which, being the airport of the capital city, would have excessive impact on the evaluation of the monitored statistical data. In terms of individual airports, the author evaluates the impact of runway parameters, reference field length and the parameters of radio navigation and lighting equipment. Other monitored aspects include the population of the respective cities (or cities where the airport is located), the airport's location relative to the city centre and its transport connection. The last monitored aspect is the impact of competing foreign airports from across the border on the regional airport's development. The aim is to prove or disprove the idea that the airport with best equipment and location (airport with the greatest potential) should exhibit the best performance in terms of the number of passengers throughput, number of movements and the cargo throughput.

Flight MH 17: The Legal and Regulatory Fallout

On Tuesday 29 July 2014, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Airports Council International (ACI) and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO) met at ICAO's headquarters to address risks to civil aviation arising from conflict zones. The meeting was a direct response to the shooting down of a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 aircraft operating flight MH 17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on 17 July 2014, and carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew. All on board perished. The four Organizations in a joint statement issued at the end of the meeting said: 'we have met at ICAO today with collective resolve to urgently review the issues and potential responses to be pursued'. The statement recognized that in the aftermath of the MH 17 disaster and as a response, ICAO had reminded its Member States of their responsibilities to address any potential risks to civil aviation in their airspace. The four parties to the meeting agreed upon the importance of ICAO's work, in the context of the subject, in urgently working with its Member States, in coordination with the aviation industry and other bodies within the United Nations, to ensure 'the right information reaches the right people at the right time'. This article examines the legal principles applicable to the shooting down of the aircraft and the regulatory background relating to the possibilities of the objective of ensuring the timely dissemination of threat information.

Ebola: Potential for Dissemination via Air Travel

Ebola has gripped the world's attention. To assess the potential for the virus to cross international borders, researchers analyzed data from the International Air Transport Association. The investigators determined the expected traveler volume from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone between September and December 2014 and the final destinations for travelers from these countries for the same months in 2013. They then coupled travel volume with Ebola-case data to calculate the expected number of exportations per month …

Assessment of the potential for international dissemination of Ebola virus via commercial air travel during the 2014 west African outbreak

SummaryBackgroundThe WHO declared the 2014 west African Ebola epidemic a public health emergency of international concern in view of its potential for further international spread. Decision makers worldwide are in need of empirical data to inform and implement emergency response measures. Our aim was to assess the potential for Ebola virus to spread across international borders via commercial air travel and assess the relative efficiency of exit versus entry screening of travellers at commercial airports.MethodsWe analysed International Air Transport Association data for worldwide flight schedules between Sept 1, 2014, and Dec 31, 2014, and historic traveller flight itinerary data from 2013 to describe expected global population movements via commercial air travel out of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Coupled with Ebola virus surveillance data, we modelled the expected number of internationally exported Ebola virus infections, the potential effect of air travel restrictions, and the efficiency of airport-based traveller screening at international ports of entry and exit. We deemed individuals initiating travel from any domestic or international airport within these three countries to have possible exposure to Ebola virus. We deemed all other travellers to have no significant risk of exposure to Ebola virus.FindingsBased on epidemic conditions and international flight restrictions to and from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone as of Sept 1, 2014 (reductions in passenger seats by 51% for Liberia, 66% for Guinea, and 85% for Sierra Leone), our model projects 2·8 travellers infected with Ebola virus departing the above three countries via commercial flights, on average, every month. 91 547 (64%) of all air travellers departing Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone had expected destinations in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. Screening international travellers departing three airports would enable health assessments of all travellers at highest risk of exposure to Ebola virus infection.InterpretationDecision makers must carefully balance the potential harms from travel restrictions imposed on countries that have Ebola virus activity against any potential reductions in risk from Ebola virus importations. Exit screening of travellers at airports in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone would be the most efficient frontier at which to assess the health status of travellers at risk of Ebola virus exposure, however, this intervention might require international support to implement effectively.FundingCanadian Institutes of Health Research.

Measuring Systemwide Impacts of New Aircraft on the Environment

Many efforts to mitigate the environmental impact of aviation, like NASA’s Subsonic Fixed Wing Project, place high importance on reducing fuel burn, nitrogen oxide () emissions, and noise of future aircraft. However, the environmental and economic impact of a new aircraft is not solely a function of the aircraft’s performance but also of how airlines use new aircraft along with other existing aircraft to satisfy the passenger demand for air transportation. In this work, an optimization problem finds the optimal allocation of existing and future aircraft to routes representing commercial air transportation within or to/from the United States to measure various fleet-level metrics. Examining fleet-level environmental metrics helps assess how aircraft meeting NASA’s Subsonic Fixed Wing Project goals could impact fleet-level environmental goals established by the International Air Transport Association. The goal set forth by the International Air Transport Association examined in this paper is to reduce total aviation emission levels to 50% of 2005 levels in 2050. The International Air Transport Association recognizes multiple approaches to reduce emissions, referred to as the “four-pillar strategy for reducing emissions.” Of these approaches, this paper looks specifically at how improvements in aircraft concepts and technology will impact systemwide environmental impacts. Results indicate that goals set forth by the International Air Transport Association for 2050 emissions appear attainable, with an aircraft allocation to minimize fuel burn and future aircraft that meet the NASA and Subsonic Fixed Wing Project fuel-consumption goals.

Rationalising the Cape Town Convention & Aircraft Protocol's First-to-Register Rule and Its Exceptions in the Context of Aviation Finance

For many, aircraft evoke a visceral thrill and sense of romance as they push the limits of human experience and transcend geographical boundaries on a regular basis. To aviation financiers however, the inherent internationality and mobility of aircraft equipment, i.e. airframes, aircraft engines and helicopters, present special challenges. This difficulty is exacerbated by the lack of uniformity across jurisdictions with regards to secured transactions law. Taking into account the high credit risk – the business of aircraft repossession is even said to carry mortal risk – creditors may refuse to lend or charge higher interest on loans.In an effort to “induce the assumption of risk and the release of funds” as well as reduce the cost of financing mobile equipment such as aircraft objects, the Governing Council of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (“UNIDROIT”) authorised the creation of a Study Group in 1992 to draft uniform rules on international aspects of security interests in mobile equipment. Over the years, the project developed into a comprehensive international convention accompanied by three protocols, each dealing with a particular category of equipment. The work concerning aircraft equipment was done with the active participation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (“ICAO”), International Air Transport Association (“IATA”) and the Aviation Working Group (“AWG”) and culminated in the signing of the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment (“Convention”) and the Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment (“Aircraft Protocol”) in 2001. After receiving the requisite number of ratifications, both entered into force in 2006. The single and restricted objective of this paper is to rationalise and defend the Convention and Aircraft Protocol’s first-to-register rule despite its problems, which this author believes have been adequately considered by the drafters of the Convention and Aircraft Protocol and addressed by the exceptions to the rule.

An evaluation of the world's major airlines' technical and environmental performance

In this empirical study, we apply bootstrapped data envelopment analysis (DEA) models under variable returns to scale to examine both the environmental and technical efficiencies of airlines. Using the regional classification of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), we chose 48 of the world's major full-service and low-cost carriers from six different regions, and then estimated their performance over the period 2007–2010. Our empirical results show that many of the most technically efficient airlines are from China and North Asia, whilst many of the best environmental performers are from Europe. We also found that although the number of environmentally oriented full-service carriers is increasing, low-cost carriers are still more environmentally oriented. Our findings show that almost all the low-cost carriers are technically operating under increasing returns to scale in all the studied years. However, this result was quite the opposite of what we found for the largest airlines.

To Fuel or Not to Fuel? Is that the Question?

According to the International Air Transport Association, the industry fuel bill accounts for more than 25% of the annual airline operating costs. In times of severe economic constraints and increasing fuel costs, air carriers are looking for ways to reduce costs and improve fuel efficiency without putting flight safety into jeopardy. In particular, this is inducing discussions on how much additional fuel to put in a planned route to avoid diverting to an alternate airport due to Air Traffic Flow Management delays. We provide here a general model to support such decisions. We illustrate it with a case study and provide comparison with the current practice, showing the relevance of our approach.

Air Travel and Pneumothorax

The number of medical emergencies onboard aircraft is increasing as commercial air traffic increases and the general population ages, becomes more mobile, and includes individuals with serious medical conditions. Travelers with respiratory diseases are at particular risk for in-flight events because exposure to lower atmospheric pressure in a pressurized cabin at cruising altitude may result in not only hypoxemia but also pneumothorax due to gas expansion within enclosed pulmonary parenchymal spaces based on Boyle's law. Risks of pneumothorax during air travel pertain particularly to those patients with cystic lung diseases, recent pneumothorax or thoracic surgery, and chronic pneumothorax. Currently available guidelines are admittedly based on sparse data and include recommendations to delay air travel for 1 to 3 weeks after thoracic surgery or resolution of the pneumothorax. One of these guidelines declares existing pneumothorax to be an absolute contraindication to air travel although there are reports of uneventful air travel for those with chronic stable pneumothorax. In this article, we review the available data regarding pneumothorax and air travel that consist mostly of case reports and retrospective surveys. There is clearly a need for additional data that will inform decisions regarding air travel for patients at risk for pneumothorax, including those with recent thoracic surgery and transthoracic needle biopsy.

Customer experience — An analysis of the concept and its performance in airline brands

This paper investigates the application of the concept of customer experience to the airline industry and the extent to which airline brands are delivering customer experience. Literature shows that the concept of customer experience is not well understood and has had no clear and consistent definition. The purpose of customer experience is identified as to deliver satisfaction throughout the customer experience that, in turn, leads to brand loyalty and advocacy.The customer experience concept is applied to the airline industry. In order to measure its performance a study was undertaken using International Air Transport Association data collected over a twelve-month period from a sample size of 18,567 passengers on fifteen major full-service airlines in Europe, Middle East and Asia.The elements of the airline passenger journey most strongly related to overall satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy were, for most airlines, cabin features followed by crew (for satisfaction) and inflight food and drink (for loyalty and advocacy). The analysis did not identify strong effects from the impact of airline continent, individual airline and flight class. The relationships between the passengers’ satisfaction ratings for specified elements of the journey and the overall satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy were not moderated by flight class.

Dynamic Interdependence in Jet Fuel Prices and Air Carrier Revenues

Volatility in fuel prices and its impact on air carrier firms has drawn interest from the air transport industry and financial markets. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global airline industry’s fuel cost is estimated to be $207 billion in 2012, constituting 33 % of operating expenses at $110/barrel Brent of oil. This is an increase of $31 billion over 2011 and is almost five times the $44 billion fuel expenses in 2003. Our paper is motivated by three issues. First, transportation economists, as well as policy makers, are interested in sources and causes of efficiency in the air carrier industry. Second, the volatility in financial and commodities markets, including crude oil and its distillates, has triggered interest in applying nonlinear methodologies, including chaos theory, to these markets. Third, developments in the econometrics of nonlinearity in the last three decades offer researchers powerful tools for detecting relationships that are inherently nonlinear and may not be conducive to various methodologies that are seeking to impose linear modeling on nonlinear relationships. This paper investigates the effects of shocks to jet fuel price per gallon on the yield for the air carrier industry as measured by dollars per passenger revenue miles. We suggest that previous research might have overlooked the possibilities of nonlinear dynamics between the two series. Drawing on existing tests of nonlinearities and chaos, we first investigate the existence of chaotic behavior as the source of nonlinearities in themonthly prices of jet fuel and a measure of yield in the air carrier industry, dollars per revenue passenger miles. To accomplish this task, we estimate AR (1) and GARCH (1,1) models Atl Econ J (2014) 42:473–474 DOI 10.1007/s11293-013-9388-9

항공테러 방지를 위한 공항보안 개선대책 연구

As witnessed in September 11 attacks, air terrorism is often the most effective means to achieve their goals, and thereby requires a sophisticated level of security measures. Moreover, considering the nature of air transportation, the prevention of air terrorism demands a wide range of international cooperation and joint efforts such as timely sharing of information related to air terrorism (such as latest terror techniques and list of terrorists) between nations, International Air Transport Association (IATA) and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) As most air terrorism can be effectively prevented through security and search activities in airports, this study has focused on researching security measures and issues in major airports around the world, along with the potential measures to improve them. To achieve this effect, this paper offers solutions to preventing air terrorism by exploring appropriate responses to various type of air terrorism, deployment of advanced security and search equipment, techniques to identify terrorists, R&D on equipments to physically take down terrorists and systematic improvements on airport security search process.

Integrated Flight Scheduling and Fleet Assignment Under Airport Congestion

Airport congestion is a major cause for the large delays that currently affect the air transport industry. These delays have huge cost implications—for the U.S. economy these costs were estimated at $32.9 billion in 2007. In this paper, we present a mixed-integer linear optimization model aimed at assisting airlines in the making of integrated flight scheduling and fleet assignment decisions that take aircraft and passenger delay costs explicitly into account. The objective of the model is to maximize the expected profits of an airline that faces a given origin/destination-based travel demand and operates in congested, slot-constrained airports. Both airline competition and airline cooperation are dealt with in the model, though in a simplified manner. The model was applied to a case study involving the main network of TAP Portugal, which comprises 31 airports and 100 daily flight legs. The results obtained through the model suggest that the Portuguese legacy carrier can improve their expected profits significantly, while diminishing the total number of flights and slightly increasing the passengers' average connecting time. The calculation effort involved in the application of the model even on a desktop computer is small enough to allow its real-time utilization in International Air Transport Association scheduling conferences. These findings clearly indicate that the model is a significant addition to the airline planning toolbox.

A model integrating fuzzy AHP with QFD for assessing technical factors in aviation safety

We developed a model that integrates fuzzy logic, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and quality function deployment (QFD) to evaluate the importance weighting of the technical factors in aviation safety, as defined by the International Air Transport Association. AHP evaluates the technical factors using pairwise comparisons, and QFD categorizes the relationship between the criteria and subcriteria using expert knowledge. Based on a questionnaire given to aviation professionals, the model shows that the importance weightings of technical factors “Extensive engine failure, uncontained engine fire,” “Design, manufacture,” and “Engine overheat, propeller failure” are most significant. The result also shows that the over-valued and/or under-valued factors predicted by the conventional AHP model can be better described by the integrated fuzzy AHP and QFD models.