Title: The human factors and safety consequences of responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, as perceived by a sample of unionised pilots

Authors: Simon Ashley Bennett

Addresses: School of Business, University of Leicester, England, UK

Abstract: This paper presents a survey of UK commercial pilots' lived experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021. The subjective data, both quantitative and qualitative, addresses such human factors and safety topics as retention of learned routines, retention of motor skills, job satisfaction, appetite for the job, lockdown experiences and perception of the performance of key actors such as the devolved governments, Westminster Government, regulators, employers and trade unions. The majority of the data is drawn from a questionnaire survey of the membership of the British Air Line Pilots Association (BALPA). The survey secured 223 responses. Findings include: incoherence in pandemic response caused by the devolution of power to national assemblies; that some employers saw in a health emergency an opportunity to reformulate terms and conditions in favour of management; that multiple furloughs, job uncertainty, financial jeopardy and a perception of some employers as self-interested and aloof adversely affected morale, commitment and mental-health.

Keywords: COVID-19; commercial aviation; furlough; flying skills; pilot morale.

DOI: 10.1504/WRITR.2024.140461

World Review of Intermodal Transportation Research, 2024 Vol.12 No.1, pp.82 - 112

Received: 25 Aug 2023
Accepted: 19 Feb 2024
Published online: 19 Aug 2024 *

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