International Air Transport Research Articles

Open Skies Policy: The Developing Countries Point of View

The concept of open skies policy is an international policy concept which aims to liberalize of rules and regulations on international commercial aviation industry. For developed countries, by allowing air carriers unlimited market access to its partners’ markets and the right to fly to all intermediate and beyond points, open skies agreements provide maximum operational flexibility for airline alliances. They may have the best opportunities, as they will be able and in the best position to offer the best product to the better part of the air traffic market. On the contrary, for developing countries, open skies policy may cause more harm to the interests of airlines than bring economic gains to the countries. Further, it will lead to a domination of the international air transportation market by the biggest and most developed countries that finally it will return the situation to monopolistic system. To take care of emerging needs, it would be more appropriate to periodically renegotiate the existing bilateral agreements.

Impact of entry restriction policies on international air transport connectivity during COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously impacted the air transport network (ATN) globally. Policies to restrict international passenger arrivals adopted by many countries are effective responses to control the spread of the virus. This paper studies the impact of two entry restriction policies implemented by some countries against international travelers during COVID-19, i.e., direct flight suspension and complete entry suspension, on the international connectivity (IC) of ATNs. Firstly, the concept of international air transport network (IATN) is defined, and a novel weighted IC index for ATNs is proposed considering flight frequency. Furthermore, to systematically analyze the difference between two policies, the hierarchical structure of the IATN is investigated, followed by studying the change of the IC index assuming different countries impose the two policies. Taking China as an example, this paper evaluates the influence of two policies based on real policy implementation of some countries against travelers from China. Besides, the critical countries affecting the IC are identified, and the network robustness is assessed. Implications for assessing and ranking the impact of different countries under different policies are provided and discussed. Lastly, two extensions are presented to discuss the impact of partial suspension and response actions such as air travel bubble. This work is one of the first to study the impact of country-to-country disconnection on air transport connectivity and deepens our understanding of the performance of ATNs during emergencies.

Sustainable aviation fuels and imminent technologies - CO2 emissions evolution towards 2050

Nowadays, concerns about rising emissions and climate change have raised the issue of decarbonization. Several approaches have been promoted in the aeronautical sector to reduce CO2 emissions. The present work provides quantitative data to support decision-making for the first pillar of International Air Transport Association (IATA) strategy to mitigate aviation climate impact. This strategy comprises improving aircraft technology and deploying sustainable low-carbon fuels. The most promising technologies for an imminent application are new engine architecture and natural laminar flow. On the other hand, efforts have been put to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) reaching the point where some methods for the production of alternative jet fuel are already approved by ASTM. Therefore, the present work quantifies the future reduction of CO2 emissions by 2050 in the aeronautical sector with these strategies. For this purpose, two methodologies are used, a numerical model to calculate fuel consumption and CO2 emissions from the global air transport fleet. For the SAF analysis, it is developed an approach that considers, besides the SAF production, the feedstocks, and the production pathway. Two cases and three scenarios represent the technological improvements and quantify the effects of new aircraft concepts and technologies on future CO2 emissions. For the SAF analysis, four scenarios and two conditions assess the different production capacities and feedstocks. The combined effect of technologies with SAF is considered verifying if the goals proposed by IATA, carbon-neutral growth from 2020, and a reduction of 50% in net emissions by 2050 compared to 2005 levels are achieved. The assessment results reveal that the goals cannot be met only with the combined action of imminent aircraft technologies and the use of alternative fuels. Carbon-neutral growth is only reached when it is considered the combined effect of technologies with the scenario where the amount of SAF introduced is higher (an increase of 15% annually between 2030 and 2050). However, this carbon-neutral growth is only possible to start in 2040. Imminent aircraft technologies can reduce up to 15% in CO2 emissions when compared to the Business as Usual scenario. The different feedstocks used in each process to produce SAF do not have a considerable impact on reducing CO2 emissions, the maximum difference registered between each condition was 1.47%.

Jurisdiction and termination of the international air carriage in the context of countering COVID-19

The article examines the issues of private law consequences of countering the global viral pandemic COVID-19 in the sphere of jurisdiction and termination of the international air transportation agreement. It is established that the jurisdictional mechanism of consideration of claims from contracts of international air transportation of passengers and baggage requires coordination of the procedure of the claim procedure and court pro-ceedings carried out carried out under the provisions on the protection of consumer rights. In international law and national regulation, the tendency of differentiation of approaches to various types of claims of passengers in case of violation of the obligations of carriers under contracts for interna-tional air carriage is highlighted. Attention is drawn to the difference in the legal regulation of international and domestic air transportation, the use of conflict-of-law mechanisms and norms of international law having priority over national legislation. The study compares the provisions of procedural and private international law, examines the provisions of judicial practice and analyzes international legal norms. It is concluded that in relation to emer-gency conditions like the COVID-19 virus pandemic, the current law needs to be improved. Attention is drawn to the need to strengthen the leading role of law in the context of the increasing technical and informational development of society and the globalization of information links and communications.

Critical analyzed information of International Air Transport Association (Divulgation paper)

The International Air Transport Association aims at representing the airline industry by enhancing awareness about the benefits of airlines to the national economies, and in this way, improving decision making regarding airline activities. Integrity is an important value if at all member airlines are expected to have trust in the organization’s duty to protect their interest. The main benefit that airlines can gain in joining IATA is the ability to be adequately represented by an organization whose voice in the industry is powerful. Member airlines are also assured of financial success as IATA recommends best practices that should be implemented in order to uphold safety, environmental sustainability, and efficient processes. Ultimately, IATA’s role in championing for the rights of airlines has been influential, and the improved performance in the industry is evidence that the association’s efforts have been fruitful.

Impact of political and market-based measures on aviation emissions and passenger behaviors (a Swiss case study)

The global aviation industry has been increasingly urged to reduce their CO2 emissions. To achieve this, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have successfully adopted various operational, technological, and air traffic management/infrastructural measures. However, they have also implemented market-based regulatory measures, including the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). Additionally, regional measures, such as the Europeanemission trading system (ETS), nationwide political measures, such as flight taxes, and compensation programs by airlines also exist. Therefore, this study surveyed the impact of such measures, primarily on business travelers and their behavior, with a focus on Switzerland. Additionally, not only the impact of the first-last mile (airport access) was discussed, but also intermodal aspects like high-speed rails were debated. Results indicated that flight tax programs were found to have a weak impact on demand. The impact of COVID-19 was addressed and decreased travel frequency from COVID-19 may impact global flight emissions in the long term. Furthermore, passengers supported investments of flight-tax revenues in sustainable aviation technology; they did not support flight contingents. Conclusions are that taxes might generate additional airport traffic. An analysis about booking behaviors revealed fundamental differences in environmental terms. Finally, voluntary compensation was highly favored.

The Digital Network of Networks: Regulatory Risk and Policy Challenges of Vaccine Passports

The extensive disruption to and digital transformation of travel administration across borders largely due to COVID-19 mean that digital vaccine passports are being developed to resume international travel and kick-start the global economy. Currently, a wide range of actors are using a variety of different approaches and technologies to develop such a system. This paper considers the techno-ethical issues raised by the digital nature of vaccine passports and the application of leading-edge technologies such as blockchain in developing and deploying them. We briefly analyse four of the most advanced systems – IBM’s Digital Health Passport “Common Pass,” the International Air Transport Association’s Travel Pass, the Linux Foundation Public Health’s COVID-19 Credentials Initiative and the Vaccination Credential Initiative (Microsoft and Oracle) – and then consider the approach being taken for the EU Digital COVID Certificate. Each of these raises a range of issues, particularly relating to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the need for standards and due diligence in the application of innovative technologies (eg blockchain) that will directly challenge policymakers when attempting to regulate within the network of networks.

Formation Offuture pilots’ Adaptive Competence In The Process Of Their Professional Training: Characteristics Of Basic Concepts

Abstract.The study of the formation of adaptive competence of future pilots in the training process is relevant given the active integration of Ukrainian aviation into the world community, development of relations and increasing interoperability of Ukrainian military aviation with the NATO Air Forces, in accordance with the Military Doctrine of Ukraine and the Strategic defense bulletin, as well as the urgent need to use the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which cooperate with ICAO, when using the common airspace. Recently, civil and military aviation have been working closely together, and military pilots are increasingly involved in evacuating the population during emergencies abroad, multinational military exercises, etc.
 Pilots of civil and military aviation of Ukraine should adapt to the requirements of the new environment as soon as possible, and higher education institutions that train pilots should adjust the training process in accordance with the new requirements. The issue of adaptive competence in general and in particular, the adaptive competence of future pilots has not been sufficiently studied yet in the modern scientific literature and therefore needs further consideration. The article aims to define and characterize the basic concepts of formation of adaptive competence of future pilots in the process of their training, which will be followed by scientific substantiation, creation of structural-functional model of formation of adaptive competence of future pilots, and creation and approbation of author's technology at the educational institutions which train pilots.
 The article considers and investigates the concepts of adaptation and its types; professional adaptation of the pilot; adaptability; competencies and competency; professional competency of the future pilot, its components and criteria of its formation; concepts and features of adaptive competency of future pilots. It also describes and characterizes the features of the future activities of pilots and certain requirements for the training of pilots in civil and military aviation.
 Key words: adaptation, adaptability, competence, adaptive competence, professional training.

중력 모형을 이용한 국제항공 네트워크와 GaWC 세계도시 분류 체계 간 연관성 탐색

본 연구에서는 전 세계 주요 도시 간 국제항공 공급 양상과 GaWC(Global and World Cities Research Network)의 세계도시 분류 체계 간 연관성 탐색을 통해 국제항공 네트워크를 기반으로 구현된 세계도시 네트워크의 주요 특징들을 살펴보았다. 이를 위해 먼저 2010~2018년 두 초국가적 도시 네트워크 사례를 구성하는 주요 도시들의 분포 추이를 분석하였다. 또한 중력 모형을 이용하여 도시 간 국제항공 공급 양상에 인구, 1인당 GDP, 거리 요인과 함께 GaWC 세계도시 분류로부터 도출된 비즈니스 연결성과 도시 더미가 미친 영향을 파악하였다. 분석 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 국제항공 네트워크를 구성하는 주요 도시들은 GaWC 도시 그룹에 비해 서유럽 분포 편중이 높게 나타났으며, 최상위 도시 그룹 내 중동·아시아 지역의 국제항공 거점 도시들과 기존 서유럽·북미의 중심 도시들 간 공급 규모 측면에서의 역전 현상이 나타나고 있었다. 둘째, 비즈니스 연결성은 인구, 1인당 GDP에 비해 국제항공 공급 양상에 미치는 영향이 컸으며, 시간에 따라 그 우위가 더욱 강해지고 있음을 확인하였다. 마지막으로 GaWC 주요 도시들의 국제항공시장 내 공급 우위 수준과 GaWC 도시 계층 간에는 차이가 존재하였으며, 항공시장의 다극화 추세에 따라 소수의 최상위 도시들이 지녔던 공급 우위가 시간에 따라 점차 약화되고 있음을 발견하였다. 본 연구는 국제항공과 GaWC를 통해 구현된 세계도시 네트워크 사례 간 비교분석을 통해 세계도시 네트워크의 다각성과 역동성을 고찰하였다는 점에서 의의가 있다.

A blockchain-based system to enhance aircraft parts traceability and trackability for inventory management

Aircraft spare parts inventory management (ASPM) has played a critical role in tracing and tracking spare parts as any related maintenance or movement shall be recorded. Traceability and trackability of data ensure the compliance of airworthiness requirements. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has strongly emphasised the significance of quality traceability data throughout the aircraft part’s life cycle, leading to enhanced inventory control accuracy, reduced maintenance error, and effective decision-making processes. However, with the rapid increase of spare parts types, the complexity of aircraft parts multi-stage supply chains leads to inefficient tracing and tracking operations with unsatisfactory traceability data quality and information security. This paper proposed a blockchain-based system that provided a managerial platform for accurate recording of spare parts traceability data with organisational consensus and validation using Hyperledger Fabric and Hyperledger Composer. A data model has been determined based on the existing ASPM, enabling information integrity during transaction operations. The channel mechanism has yielded a trustful data sharing platform between each contracting organisation for logistics and operational arrangements, which has enhanced information visibility and security. The blockchain-based system, executed under a decentralised ledger mechanism, shall improve the quality of traceability data and reliable information sharing within the spare parts supply chain. The enhanced blockchain-based inventory management system can establish the digital twin of aviation as part of Industry 4.0 in the future.

Региональные аэропорты ЦФО: перспективы развития в условиях макроэкономической нестабильности

Based on the analysis of passenger traffic at the airports of the Moscow Aviation Hub and regional airports of the Central Federal District, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dynamics of passenger traffic was assessed. As a result of the system analysis, it was concluded that the growth of passenger traffic at the airports of Yaroslavl and Kursk is due to the expansion of the internal route network. As a result of the introduction of temporary prohibitive and restrictive measures for international air transportation, there was an increase in demand for domestic destinations. The airports of Yaroslavl and Kursk, in the summer of 2020, opened regular flights to the resort cities of the Southern Federal District. Based on the analysis of passenger traffic dynamics, it is concluded that an important factor in the development of regional airports in the Central Federal District is their structural modernization. The current passenger traffic index of regional airports can be significantly increased if the runways and terminal complex are expanded. The results of the study can be applied in the development of a strategy for the development of regional airports, of which there are more than 200 as of 2021 on the territory of the Russian Federation and many of which need structural modernization. In the context of the development of the airport complex in the Russian market of passenger air transportation, there will be a dynamic increase in passenger traffic.

When do we fly again? Managing Airlines in a Pandemic: Challenges and Recommendations

This paper aimed to identify the challenges and propose recommendations to manage sustainability of the airline industry in a pandemic. When the World Health Organization stated Covid-19 as pandemic on March 11, 2020, governments in all countries ordered lockdowns, imposed travel restrictions, and required quarantine of 14 days for visitors and citizens upon arrival at the airport. The airlines industry came to a standstill. As Covid-19 is a recent and evolving phenomenon, the methodology employs secondary research based on data from authoritative sources such as the World Health Organization, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Air Transport Association (IATA) to identify the challenges. Peer reviewed research on past pandemics, especially the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2002-2003 help formulate recommendations to manage sustainability. The challenges are financial crisis, travel restrictions and customer distrust. The recommendations are positioning customer safety first, customer engagement, pricing strategy and collaboration with government. Limitations of the research and future research suggestions are presented

The Impact Of Fuel Price Fluctuation And Macroeconomic Variables To Airlines Performance

The airlines industry is facing significant financial risks which arises from the changes in current economic conditions that has impacted the vulnerability of stock returns as well as its financial performance. This research primarily aims to study the effects of fuel price fluctuations and macroeconomic variables to airlines performance from both internal (represented by RoA and RoE) and market perspective (represented by airlines stock return).
 Data was obtained from publicly listed airlines registered in the International Air Transport Association (IATA) with their business model classification: Low-Cost Carriers (LCC) and Full-Service Carriers (FSC). The analysis was carried out using multiple panel data regression model.

Investigating the Relationships Among Security Communications, Passenger’s Awareness and Satisfaction Toward Preflight Security Checks

ABSTRACT Objective: This study proposes the conceptual framework to verify the relationship among preflight security communications and passengers’ awareness of dangerous goods and satisfaction of security checks. Background: All air transport stakeholders strive to ensure aviation’s safety and security. As key players, airlines and airports must comply with International Air Transport Association and International Civil Aviation Organization regulations, so they usually establish strict security mechanisms to prevent possible accidents resulting from passengers bringing dangerous goods on board. However, excessive or unnecessary security checks often cause inconvenience for passengers, who are dissatisfied with security checks and may be discouraged from flying again. Method: With 300 valid questionnaires collected from domestic route passengers in Taiwan, analysis of variance and structural equation modeling were conducted to explore the differences in the passengers’ awareness of dangerous goods and the impacts of security communications and awareness of dangerous goods on the satisfaction with the security checks. Results: Older and retired passengers are prone to have relatively low awareness about dangerous goods. Among the 3 types of preflight security communications, counter and website communications had stronger impacts on passengers’ satisfaction of security checks. Conclusion: This research built a research framework on security communication, awareness of dangerous goods, and satisfaction of security checks for aviation operators and administrative authorities to design more effective security communication methods to improve aviation safety and security.

2018 saw a sharp increase in air crash deaths: visualizing and evaluating risk

Theoretical basis Risk literacy matters for business students. A significant aspect of decision-making is accurately evaluating the risks involved in a decision. Research shows that many people are challenged to understand simple, health-relevant risk rates and probabilities. It also shows that many people are functionally innumerate, even educated people like doctors. While there is much academic work in health aimed at understanding how to communicate health risks to patients, an important personal area for business students, there are many industries and organizations where understanding risk is important for business students’ careers. This case provides opportunities for business students to practice these skills. Research methodology This is a secondary-data, compact case. The impetus for the case was a blog and the data gathered is primarily from Aviation Safety Net, Worldbank, Airlines.org, International Air Transport Association and Statista.com. Case overview/synopsis Coming across a blog headline, a professor is dismayed at the message: 2018 saw a sharp increase in air crash deaths. Questioning that the headline is appropriate and that the number of fatalities is an appropriate measure, the professor sets out to analyze airline safety data. Complexity academic level This case is intended for undergraduate or graduate students in an introductory business analytics course. The focus is on using and communicating risk rates and visualization.

The impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on The Air Transport: A Case Study of Egypt air

On March 5, 2020, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated that the aviation sector lost between $ 63 billion and $ 113 billion in revenue due to reduced passenger numbers. The Union estimated revenue losses at nearly $ 30 billion, and here the focus is on the extent of the damage to the travel sector and the global economy, that the collapse of business that the aviation sector witnessed following the Corona pandemic could eliminate 46 million jobs around the world, and in Egypt air traffic stopped The Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the beginning of the spread of the Corona virus, and Egypt Air's losses reached 1.2 billion pounds per month as of April 2020 since a decision was issued by the Council of Ministers on March 19, 2020 to suspend foreign air traffic due to the spread of the Corona virus pandemic as part of the state's precautionary measures, and these measures have affected the economies The company. The field study relied on the qualitative approach by interviews with the directors of Egypt Air or their representatives to answer the study’s questions and achieve its objectives, which aim at the impact of the new Corona virus on the economies of air transport in Egypt in terms of management, operations, operation and economics for this sector

On the international legal regulation of cooperation between air transport companies

The subject of this research is the problematic aspects of international legal regulation of cooperation between airways. The author reviews the fundamental international treaties in the sphere of international air transportation (international air law). Special attention is given to examination of different types of bilateral agreements on air transport or air communication. Analysis is conducted on the advantages and disadvantages of the structure of bilateral regulation; different classification of the alliances in Russian and foreign scientific literature. The conclusion is made that although initially, the strategic alliances were created to improve the welfare of air transport companies by reducing costs, currently there is market, concentration with overwhelming share of the three largest alliances. Stiff competition forces to join one or another alliance in order to share in the international air carriage, which clearly indicates the tendency to globalization of air transport. There is no doubt that the countries constantly use the methods of bilateral regulation for obtaining vast benefits.  Currently, further development of bilateral and multilateral (namely regional) cooperation in the sphere of international air carriage aimed at liberalization of international air transport is of major importance. This is the most efficient and fastest means of communication between the countries. The conclusion is made on the insufficient and fragmentary nature of international legal regulation of airways cooperation. The author advances the idea of going beyond private law regulation and creating a universal international legal mechanism that would help to overcome the problem of discrimination against third countries.

Bio-jet fuel range in biofuels derived from hydroconversion of palm olein over Ni/zeolite catalysts and freezing point of biofuels/Jet A-1 blends

According to the regulation announced by International Air Transport Association to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, there are many attempts to produce bio-jet fuels from natural oils to replace, at least in part, the fossil fuels. However, bio-jet fuels usually suffer from poor cold flow properties. Hence, this research aimed to convert palm olein to bio-jet fuel range with high content of iso-alkanes via hydroconversion over nickel (Ni)/zeolite-based catalysts. The levels of liquid biofuels classified as bio-gasoline, bio-jet and green diesel, including the selectivity for chemical compositions were evaluated. Under 40 bar initial H2 pressure at 360 °C for 4 h, the use of Ni/NH4-Beta catalysts (Ni content = 10 wt%) provided the maximum iso-/n-alkane ratio at 1.67 with a bio-jet yield of 20.8 wt%. The schematic reaction mechanism for this process was also proposed. The incorporation of platinum (Pt) into the Ni/NH4-Beta catalysts to a Pt/(Pt + Ni) wt ratio of 0.24 increased the bio-jet yield to 28.7 wt% with iso-/n-alkane ratio of 1.02. Differential scanning calorimetry thermograms indicated that the freezing temperature (Tf) of the biofuels decreased with increasing iso-/n-alkane ratio, where the Tf of the liquid biofuels with iso-/n-alkane ratio > 1.00 was not observed. For the biofuels/fossil jet fuel (Jet A-1) blends, the use of biofuels having iso-/n-alkane ratio of 1.67 could be blended with Jet A-1 up to 50/50 (v/v) and the Tf of the blended jet fuel was found at ca. −80 °C, which was lower than the limitation according to ASTM D1655-04a (−47 °C).

A Comparative Overview of Accident Forecasting Approaches for Aviation Safety

The demand of air transportation is expected to be doubled over the next two decades as per the recommendations of the International Air Transport Association. This would prompt more aviation safety issues with increased air traffic congestion and load on the air transportation system. To estimate the level of risk and improve the forecasting ability, various methodologies have been proposed by the research community. As each methodology has its pros and cons, this manuscript provides a comparative study of various Data mining, Time series, Artificial Neural Networks, and ensemble Techniques on the aviation safety and forecasting complication. This paper concludes that different methods dealing with different information may be combined to have an outstanding prospective in aviation accident forecasting and to come up with a number of ways of enhancement and their assistance in decision making.

Taking Air Passenger Rights Seriously: The Case Against the Exclusivity of the Montreal Convention

Abstract The 1999 Montreal Convention seeks to unify certain rules concerning the liability of air carriers in international air transport. This article highlights the problems that the exclusion of national rules in favour of a unified international legal regime poses from a consumer protection point of view. International trade regulation carries an inherent structural risk of bias in favour of industry rather than consumer interests. Drawing inspiration from international human rights law, the alternative of an inspired approach based on subsidiarity is put forward, which, instead of seeking rigid uniformity at international level, allows for the recognition of a complementary role for international, regional and national levels in protecting consumers. The feasibility of adopting such a perspective in interpreting the Montreal Convention is also considered.