The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has turned its attention to the many potential safety issues associated with aviation emerging from Covid-19 lockdown. The regulator has published a comprehensive Review of aviation safety issues arising from the covid-19 pandemic.
EASA says its survey and follow-up discussions ‘identified many different safety issues across a wide range of operational activities.’
EASA identifies six broad areas of potential concern:
- Management Systems
- Human Performance
- Training, Checking and Recency
- Outdated Information
- Infrastructure and Equipment
- Financial Impacts on Safety
EASA says, ‘the over-arching theme to all of these safety issues was the need for well-functioning management systems, which ensure that we are able to identify and manage our risks effectively.’
‘EASA is now addressing those safety issues to identify appropriate mitigating actions and to support their implementation across the industry.’
Under the six areas are 45 potential risks, including, decreased wellbeing of aviation professionals during shutdown, technical issues relating to recommencing aircraft fuelling after a long break, the impact of fewer aircraft observations on meteorological modelling, and an expected increase in cases of unruly or disruptive passengers .’
CASA has published Fit to fly, a page of resources for returning to normal operations after the lockdown, including a series of high-level checklists aimed at private, air work and low capacity charter operators.
We are now where near the end of this. Its a no brainer what needs to be done. Its the intestinal fortitude of Governments and budgets that will determine what will be done and regulated.