Few aircraft were in the air during the corona lockdown. There were hardly any vacation trips or business trips, thousands of pilots spent many months on the ground. Now they can go back into the cockpit. How safe is it to fly after the mandatory break?
Leila Belaasri has one of the most beautiful jobs in the world. This is what the pilot of a large German airline says about her work, high above the clouds. During the corona lockdown, she was not allowed to take off for six months. Some of her fellow pilots didn’t even sit in the cockpit for a whole year. A long compulsory break that has left its mark on the pilots. Dozens of pilots have anonymously reported to the US aviation authority that they have “rusted” at home for a long time and have therefore made mistakes in the air Analysis of the insurance company Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty come out. For example, you forgot to release the brakes when starting, landed on the wrong runway or are sweaty to turn on the de-icing mechanism. Fortunately, nothing happened.
Such cases are Leila Belaasri, spokeswoman for the Association cockpit, although not known for Germany. But she also says in the podcast “Another thing learned” that mistakes are part of everyday flying. “It is very likely that the colleagues out there will make mistakes every day. The question is how is this discussed and what is the reaction time of the colleagues,” reports the pilot. The perfect flight is not the goal. “The question is when will the error be recognized and how will it be dealt with. We are trained on that. The word error does not have a negative connotation in our world. The error does not lead directly to an incident.”
The flying skills can be reactivated relatively quickly, says Leila Belaasri. “We as pilots have decided that we will book exams for life with our job. And due to the regular examinations and simulator training that we complete, we all have a good, solid foundation of flying skills.”
Airlines offered different amounts of training
During the pandemic and lockdown in winter and spring, vacation travel was practically impossible for several countries due to travel warnings. 2020 there was worldwide 73 percent fewer tourists than the year before. Fewer flights were offered, air traffic is up two-thirds broken into. It is only since June that more and more passenger planes have started to take off again. The industry has not fully recovered to this day. The pilots were brought back, partly from short-time work. “An unforgettable moment to be back where you belong. Not at the desk, but in the cockpit,” says Leila Belaasri.
The fact that the pilots were able to operate all the technology in the passenger jets without any problems after months of compulsory vacation only worked with regular training. Leila Belaasri reports on different techniques, for example using Chair Flying to repeat processes at home. “That means nothing more than choosing a comfortable seating position, in front of the desk on the sofa, ideally with your eyes closed, imagining the cockpit environment and then going through procedures. The more flight experience you have, the more difficult procedures you go through in your mind.” In addition, she and her colleagues trained with learning software and manuals.
The airlines have also sent their pilots to flight simulators. These are machines that look like real cockpits from the inside. The entire flight operations can be run through there, including dangerous situations such as an engine failure. the Lufthansa, for example offers its pilots at least five to six simulator training courses per year. Some airlines only offered the minimum during the lockdown – others at least up to four training units, reports Leila Belaasri. “A valid flight license implies at least one license-maintaining check flight in the simulator once a year. And everything beyond that, i.e. training flights, are at the discretion of the airline’s training department and they have handled this differently. In fact, every airline has an interest in the pilots having appropriate license check flights exist.”
The training in flight simulators is not cheap for the airlines, reports Leila Belaasri in the podcast. And the trainers, who are mostly active pilots, would also have to be paid. Costs that the airlines may find difficult to cope with if they have financial problems due to the corona crisis. Normally, the pilots would have to complete three take-offs and landings in a real jet within 90 days, says Belaasri. During the lockdown, the be relocated to a flight simulator.
Teamwork makes flying safer
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In addition to the technical training, teamwork on the plane is also played out on a regular basis. In so-called crew resource management training courses, the crew practices how to communicate and cooperate better – and how to react effectively and prudently in exceptional situations. This system is intended to help prevent aircraft accidents. In the 1970s, NASA found out that 60 to 80 percent of aircraft accidents were caused by human error – Not due to errors in operating the technology in the cockpit, but due to poor cooperation between the crew. That is why she introduced Crew Resource Management in 1979.
This aviation working model is now also used in other industries, including medicine. The system has proven itself. And made flying safer. The number of aircraft accidents is falling. The plane is by far the safest means of transport. The accident rate in aviation is low compared to driving a car. And that will not change now, after months of near-standstill in aviation, says Leila Belaasri. The pilots are not a risk to the passengers. “Fortunately there is the Federal Aviation Office in Germany. Fortunately there is EASA [Anm. d. Red.: European Union Aviation Safety Agency], an authority that oversees all processes. All passengers can rest assured. It is impossible for us to fly without any training or license. It just doesn’t work. “
Pilots are happy to accept the frequent training sessions so that they can continue to sit in the cockpit. But the dream job is at risk. The corona pandemic has caused extreme economic damage to global air traffic. In Europe alone, 18,000 of the 65,000 pilot jobs are likely to be permanently lost, estimates the European pilots association EPA. For many, that means they have to look for a completely new job. Some former pilots have now retrained to become train drivers.