Abstract
Within the scope of the study, general information about the world aviation sector and specific information about the European aviation sector are given. The position and predictions of the aviation industry before and after COVID-19 were shared. Human resources management practices that continue to be implemented in the aviation industry and human resources management practices that are expected to be implemented after COVID-19 are mentioned. In this context, general information is given about the areas that are expected to affect the need for human resources in the use of digitalization and electronic devices. It has been evaluated that the use of existing human resources, both within the scope of digitalization and in line with the expectations after COVID-19, will both preserve the current position of the human resource and contribute to the efficiency of the aviation industry.
TopIntroduction
It would not be wrong to say that the airline is the relatively cheap and fastest option for passenger transportation today. Increasing technological developments have effected the aviation sector as well as every sector. In the commercial civil aviation sector, not only aircraft and flight personnel are involved. Human resources in the aviation sector consist of components such as ground personnel, Cargo personnel, passenger services personnel, security personnel who perform at least as important functions as flight personnel. Mergerison et al. (1986: 32), stated that when it comes to human resources in the aviation industry, it is traditionally focused on pilots rather than air crew. However, this is not the case today. All employees in the aviation industry tend to be viewed as a whole. Of course, every employee is expected to have the specialities and competencies related to his or her job.
Compared to other sectors, human resources in the aviation industry are extremely sensitive to possible errors. The faultless nature of aviation necessitated greater care and attention to human resources management in the aviation industry. In this context, issues such as each individual in teh aviation sector undergoing standard training, updating these tarinings periodically and establisihing a continuous feedback mechanism regarding new developments should be followed meticulously without leaving any room for negligence.
Personnel management, which is the predecessor of the term human resource management, stands out as a relatively narrow-scoped approach that monitors only the work related and workplace situation of the personnel in charge (Kurnaz & Eryılmaz, 2021:96). However, in order to respond to the developing needs over time, the concept of personnel management has been expanded and has turned into a discipline that covers almost every subject related to human resources, which is a very important resource for business. This new discipline attracted great attention in a short time and offered solutions for the effective and efficient use of human resources in order to make businesses successful. So much so that some universities even opened human resources departments (Kurnaz, 2020:26).
Developing technology, digitalization, facilitating people’s Access to technology and the internet, and increasing technology literacy have inevitably effected human resources management like every other field. In this context, some services that were first performed by human resources in the past are performed by digital and electronic devices. However, this situation does not affect the importance and indispensable qualities of human resources for the enterprise. It is considered that human resources will not lose their importance in the short term, especially in sectors such as the aviation sector, which are based on high expertise and where personnel continuity is important.
The Covid-19 pandemic has inevitably affected the aviation industry as well as all other industries in the world. Travel bans applied from time to time around the world and the incredible decrease in the number of passengers have caused a serious decrease in the revenues of the aviation industry and human resources have also had their share from the reflections of this loss of income. Aviation companies have implemented options such as laying off some of their employees’ wages or putting employees on temporary leave. This has negatively affected the motivation of human resources which is considered the most important resource for businesses. Among the negative situations in question, a decrease in the sense of organizational belonging and a decrease in job satisfaction can be counted. Particular attention is paid to employee staisfaction in sectors such as the aviation industry, where human-induced errors can cause very high material and moral losses. Otherwise, an increase in the number of accidents and high compensations will evitably increase.
After the above-mentioned break, it became necessary to rethink human resources management in the aviation industry and to learn from past experiences in the development of future human resources management practices and strategies. Increasing the efficiency and loyalty of the existing human resources, determining the basic conditions necessary for selecting suitable personnel for the job and revising the determined condititons, correctly identifying on-the-job training and other training needs will be among the most important tasks of human resources management in the new period.
Key Terms in this Chapter
IAOPA: The International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations. It was established in 1962. It is a non-profit, autonomous association founded to represent aviation around the World.
EAAP: European Association for Aviation Psychology. Since 1956, the association has aimed to create a professional network that successfully implements human resource management in aviation with a European perspective, with more than 560 members around the world.
ICAO: It is an international aviation organization established in 1947 under the United Nations. International Civil Aviation Organization.
ECA: European Cockpit Association. Founded in 1991, the association represents EU citizen European pilots. It pepresents more than 40.000 pilots from around 33 European countries.
ITF: International Transport Workers’ Federation. It operates in 135 countries around the world with approximately 250 subsidiaries. It includes all employees in the ground and flight crew.
EurECCA: European Cabin Crew Association. The association, which represents more than 33.000 subsidiaries operating in 8 European countries, has gathered approximately 70% of the cabin crew currently working in the European aviation sector.
IATA: It is the abbreviated name of the institution that supervises the tariffs and authorization of passenger and cargo transportation by air. Airline companies that meet ICAO requirements can become IATA members. International Air Transport Association.
JAA: JAA, which was established to standardize and coordinate regional aviation rules for member countries; it has collected its rules and practices consisting of issues such as flight safety, flight activity, personnel licences, airworthiness, and maintenance in documents called joint aviation requirements (JAR). Joint Aviation Authorities.
ETF: European Transport Workers’ Federation. It represents more than 5 million transport workers from 41 countries across Europe. However, although it covers the aviation industry, not all of its members work in the aviation industry, but some of them work in the aviation industry.
CAPA: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. It analyzes in depth the approaches and information expected to shape the aviation industry in the future.
A4E: Airlines for Europe. The association represents approximately 70% of the European air traffic, with 16 leading European airline companies/groups as members. In addition, the world’s leading aircraft and aviation electronics manufacturers are also memebers of the association.
Eurocontrol: The aim of organization is to develop a pan-European air traffic management (ATM) system by coordinating the work of all aviation participants in Europe. The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation.
EASA: EASA is a security agency for European airspace, which became operational on 15 July 2002. It is headquartered in Cologne, Germany and employs around 300 staff from all member nations. The aim of agency to ensure flight and ground safety by controlling the monitoring and implementation of all kinds of aircraft, flight, production, response, effectiveness, and applicable security legislation within the European airspace. European Aviation Safety Agency.
ECAC: It was established in 1955 to provide technical and commercial cooperation between European countries to harmonize civil aviation policies and practices among members and to advance reconciliation between European countries and third countries, and consists of 42 member countries. The standards set by ECAC and the ongoing activities are carried out in accordance with ICAO standards. European Civil Aviation Conference.
IFALPA: International Federation of Air Line Pilots Association. Is a non-profit association representing more than 100.000 pilots from nearly 100 countries around the world.
AEA: It is an association of 31 European airline companies. The aims of the association are to represent member airlines both within the European Union and against other organizations. The beginning of the association dates back to 1952 and was established with the leadership of Air France, KLM, Sabena Airlines and Swissair companies. Association of European Airlines.