Collaboration and Confidence: the Basis for Success in Safety Culture
Technological development, advances in air traffic management, and training have played a fundamental role in improving safety indicators in the aviation industry. Manufacturers, regulators, technology companies, airlines, international organizations have worked hand in hand to identify operational risks and develop solutions to mitigate them.
June 8, 2022
Sao Paulo, June 8, 2022 – Technological development, advances in air traffic management, and training have played a fundamental role in improving safety indicators in the aviation industry. Manufacturers, regulators, technology companies, airlines, international organizations have worked hand in hand to identify operational risks and develop solutions to mitigate them.
However, the fact that traveling by plane is today the safest way to travel is possible because, in addition to the impressive technological and operational developments, there is a safety culture that involves norms, paradigms, values and attitudes that determine the organizations’ day-to-day and that put people at the center of the equation.
During the eleventh edition of the ALTA Pan American Aviation Safety Summit 2022, veteran Captain Chesley Burnett “Sully” Sullenberger, representative of the United States on the ICAO Council, shared insights on the development of the safety culture in Latin America and the world.
Ambassador Sully noted that as air travel became more popular, especially after the 1940s, the industry, regulatory agencies and the public began to demand better safety and reliability conditions. Technological tools such as new navigation, monitoring or ground proximity warning systems have provided greater safety to air operations, “but I would add that our attitudes, and the safety culture they play an equal or greater role in our success. We have to change the way we think about accidents: instead of view them as inevitable, we have to view them as unthinkable”.
Capt. Sully remarked that “the only thing that makes that possible is trust, which at its core is the cornerstone of a highly effective safety culture”.
“Thanks to the emphasis we have placed on just culture and the collaborative relationship that exists between the regulator and regulated community, we not only acknowledge our failures, we study them exhaustively. We’ve built dedicated systems and processes to categorize and screen out our failures”, added the aviation safety expert.
Socioeconomic development in Latin America and the Caribbean in recent decades has made air travel increasingly accessible. This places considerable demands on airlines, regulators and operators and, in the opinion of the veteran pilot, the region is successfully responding to the challenge.
“Your airlines are among the safest in the world, which not only demonstrates their skill and commitment to safety, but also all that of the community that supports them and create for a safe operating environment. And this safe environment has been shaped and known as more part by the regulatory landscape.”
“Latin America and the Caribbean is a region with an outstanding historical track in terms of safety. People are the center of the operation, and it is part of the culture of the companies in the sector. We see it in operators with a large trajectory, as well as operators with smaller aircraft that were born more recently with the aim of providing the safest transportation to the population, even in remote places that do not have other safe and efficient transportation mechanisms but aviation, such as the Amazon, the Andean, or the Caribbean islands. ALTA has a permanent Safety Committee that develops initiatives that strengthen operational safety in the region achieving outstanding results recognized globally”, highlighted José Ricardo Botelho, Executive Director and CEO of ALTA.
Latin America and the Caribbean, a Safety Reference in the World
The region is a global example in safety standards, being the first to have a regional aviation safety group, the RASG-PA (Regional Aviation Safety Group – Pan America), created in 2008 with the vision of staying ahead of any risk for commercial aviation, seeking to achieve the highest level of safety in the Pan American region, as well as address global aviation safety issues from a regional perspective.
It is a collaboration model between States, international organizations and industry for other regions of the world with essential contributions regarding the identification and mitigation of safety risks.
In his message to the participants of the ALTA Safety Summit, ICAO Secretary General, Juan Carlos Salazar, highlighted the role of Latin America and the Caribbean in efforts to raise global aviation safety standards and that “the resumption of the Pan American Aviation Safety Summit this year is another important sign on the road to recovery and an irreplaceable opportunity for States, industry and users to exchange their ideas and enhance collaboration. This coordination is a must in our efforts to maintain a productive approach on managing safety, and to keep all stakeholders actively engaged and committed”, during his message.
Safety Culture in the Context of Recovery
The latest ICAO analyzes reveal clear signs of a solid recovery in air traffic and in the confidence of airlines, passengers and States, which has contributed to the lifting of restrictions on air transport. The ICAO Secretary General shared that the global number of passengers carried from January to April 2022 increased by 65% compared to the same period in 2021 and that airline seat capacity increased by 32% in these first four months of the year.
“As recovery proceeds, and traffic volumes increase again, safety management and safety performance will be critical to recovery success”, expressed.
Secretary General shared a reflection on the profound importance for the world’s economies and value chains that the collaboration of air transport industry and governments is even closer. To the extent that the airline industry and the States work in a coordinated manner, pre-pandemic levels of operation will be reached sooner.