See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/347983708

International Journal of Aviation Science and Technology An Exploratory

Study of Pilot Training and Recruitment in Europe

Article in International Journal of Aviation Science and Technology · December 2020

DOI: 10.23890/IJAST.vm01is02.0201

CITATIONS READS

3 518

3 authors, including:

Marina Efthymiou
Dublin City University
61 PUBLICATIONS 795 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Marina Efthymiou on 29 December 2020.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 International Journal of Aviation Science and Technology, Volume 1, Issue 2, (2020), 44-51

International Journal of Aviation

Science and Technology

An Exploratory Study of Pilot Training and Recruitment in Europe

Lenard Mariyanov Adanov1, Andrew Macintyre2, Marina Efthymiou3*
1
DCU Business School, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland
lenard.adanov2@mail.dcu.ie
2
DCU Business School, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland
andrew.macintyre@dcu.ie
3
DCU Business School, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland
marina.efthymiou@dcu.ie - 0000-0001-8611-5973

Abstract Keywords

Pilot Training
Pilot training and recruitment is of fundamental importance for the aviation Approved Training Organizations
industry. Yet, a number of Commercial Pilot’s License (CPL) applicants trained Safety in Aviation
by Approved Training Organizations (ATOs) fail their airline assessments. To Aviation Regulation
Pilot Assessment
provide some clarity on why this is happening, we conducted in-depth Pilot recruitment
interviews with twelve industry professionals and a detailed documentary
analysis was undertaken. We found that the main reasons are: (1) Lack of
preparation or technical knowledge; (2) Poor communication skills; and (3) Time Scale of Article
Poor display of teamwork and leadership. The paper suggests that regulation
should be implemented for ATO’s to use screening processes on potential
students to increase quality or Airline Pilot Standard Multi Crew-Cooperation Received 27 July 2020
(APS MCC) system, as an additional training system on top of what is being Revised until 27 October 2020
Accepted 5 November 2020
taught in ATOs. Regulations should further be linked with regular audits in
Online date 30 December 2020
place for smaller airlines to increase the effectiveness of their pilot
assessments and recruitment processes in order to increase safety. Areas of
further research as also identified.

similar to each other in the steps, which are required to

1. Introduction be passed by an interviewee pilot. These include passing
Aptitude Tests such as the WOMBAT, or COMPASS [36],
There has been extensive research into the global pilot or one of the many other available on the market
shortage that was seriously affecting European airlines examinations [4, 18]. Then the pilots have to pass an
and the aviation industry as a whole [2, 7, 10]. There are Individual or Panel Interview, Group Exercises,
many reasons for the pilot shortage including lack of Psychometric Evaluation or Personality Questionnaires,
financial resources to cover training costs for potential and finally the Aircraft Simulator. However, there is no
new trainees due to the high prices; high percentage of official standard selection process for airline pilots’
pilot attrition (retirement or death of captains); assessments. At this stage, the pilots would have already
increased traffic growth; very difficult and strict entry passed their entire 12-24 month training through an
assessments in both the medical and aptitude tests (for Approved Training Organization (ATO), also known as
safety reasons); and many more. “flight schools”, which includes 650 hours of theoretical
Considering all the barriers in place already, which limit study and 210 flight hours granting them a Frozen Air
the supply of pilots, it is very worrying that many Transport Pilot License (ATPL, Frozen ATPL is given in
qualified pilots cannot get a job with an airline. Airline Europe until the pilot has flown commercially for 1,500
assessments throughout Europe are typically quite hours at which point they receive their full ATPL

*: Corresponding Author Marina Efthymiou, marina.efthymiou@dcu.ie

DOI: 10.23890/IJAST.vm01is02.0201

44
 L. M. Adanov et al., IJAST, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2020, DOI: 10.23890/IJAST.vm01is02.0201

Certificate) at the end. Otherwise, they could have some recommendations.

chosen the Multi-Crew Pilot License (MPL) route which
is the newest form of pilot training focusing on getting 2. Literature Review
the pilot trained for a specific type of aircraft introduced
by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in Research on the topic of Pilot Training is scarce and
2006. The MPL allows holders to exercise the privileges mainly led by practitioners rather than academics [19].
of the Frozen ATPL, but is limited to a certain aircraft One source on the topic of Pilot Training is Captain Andy
type, certified for multi-pilot operation only. There is a O’Shea, Chairman at European Aviation Safety Agency
lot of debate which way is better amongst aviation (EASA) Aircrew Training Policy Group (ATPG). He
experts as the new MPL route is a lot more expensive reported that only 48% of roughly 1000 candidates were
considering the increase in time spent in the aircraft found successful in the airline assessments of Ryanair.
simulator though it is argued that it gives pilots a lot The analysis of huge amounts of data for the
more hands-on knowledge to the specific aircraft they Competency-Based Training and Assessment element
are being trained on [35]. allowed the identification of competency weaknesses
Pilots also have a choice of going through their training and planning of a course that addressed the weaknesses
in a modular or integrated fashion, meaning they could [26]. A potential solution to this is the enhancement of
have it broken down and done part by part to be Multi Crew-Cooperation MCC to a standard [31]. This led
completed at their discretion and time or have it done in to the implementation of the Airline Pilot Standard Multi
one full-time integrated course, known as Ab-Initio Crew Cooperation (APS MCC) in 2016 [16]. This
Training (from zero to pilot). After that, whether or not consequently contributed to an increased number of
they took the ATPL or MPL route, they would have then successful cadet applicants.
completed their Type Rating Certification which takes Recognizing the main challenges and weaknesses of
up to another 2 months to finish. This means that before pilots in these airline assessments, such as
they sit their airline assessments, most pilots would have “Communication; Leadership and Teamwork; Problem
had to undergo roughly 2 years of training, costing up to Solving and Decision Making; and Workload
€120,000 [11, 20], yet somehow, half of all those pilots fail Management” [31] meant that now it was known where
some part of their final airline assessments. Having such the focus should be directed at.
a large percentage of the pilots who manage to not only
overcome the financial barrier of entry, but also pass any Burns also discussed the issues newly trained pilots face
preliminary assessments in the ATOs and the medical when applying for jobs, as well as advice on the selection
exams, to then fail to pass airline assessments securing of pilot academies for budding pilots [8]. The
them work in Europe is a serious problem that must be Department of Transportation in Croatia published a
addressed. study on the challenges sometimes found in training
regiments within ATOs applying Root-Cause Analysis
The aim of this paper is to investigate why pilots fail in [3]. Some of the issues found were with inaccurate
European commercial airline assessments and documentation due to some of the students not filling-
interviews, even though they have successfully passed in their required documents post-flight in time and
training through official ATOs. More specifically this either having to go back and fill them in from memory or
paper will: having to input rough estimates. This resulted in under-
1. Outline the current standards to which pilots are prepared pilots once their training was complete and an
trained in ATOs. extra step in the process to be implemented for pilot
instructors to check the students’ documentation was
2. Discover the minimum requirements for cadet pilot recommended.
entries into Commercial Airlines.
Additionally on the issues of pilot training, there has
3. Identify the key reasons for which 50% of pilots fail been coverage by news organizations and specialized
some airline assessments. aviation societies. These have linked the challenges of
4. Give recommendations on how to improve the pilot training and recruitment to the global pilot
current pilot educational system. shortage, manufacturing constraints, and to the possible
solutions available, including discussions on the
The paper contributes to the body of knowledge by introduction of the APS MCC [11].
conducting research in an area significantly under-
researched, but of importance to the airline industry In 2017, of the roughly 70,000 commercial airline pilots
especially considering the impact of COVID-19 on labour active in the European region [9], Irish Air Line Pilots
negotiation power. Association (IALPA) estimates there are about 6,000
unemployed pilots in Europe today equal to
The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. approximately 8% unemployment [21]. Although 50% of
Section 2 begins by elaborating on the literature review new pilots fail certain airline assessments, they
associated with the pilot training. The methodology eventually find employment.
followed is outlined in Section 3. Section 4 outlines the
results while Section 5 concludes the paper by providing Multiple other studies have dealt with topics related to

45
 L. M. Adanov et al., IJAST, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2020, DOI: 10.23890/IJAST.vm01is02.0201

pilot errors, variance in pilot performance, pilots failing interviewees being in different countries, phone and
medical examinations, and flight safety once pilots are video call methods also had to be used.
already within the airline [9, 27, 28]. Although these do
Finally, ethical guidelines and regulations were strictly
not typically relate to challenges with pilot training and
followed. Giving everyone the choice to remain
recruitment, a speculation is made that each of these
anonymous also ensured that fear of answering honestly
would be intrinsically linked to how the pilots were
was removed [29]. Only one interviewee chose to avail of
trained before entering the airline and how they have
this option.
upheld or improved their standards, though no concrete
link can be made without a much larger study
Table 1: List of interviewees
conducted. This will be examined in more detail in
Section 5.
Name Title Type
Current regulations by EASA on Aircrew Regulation and Karl O’Neill Captain in Aer Lingus Phone
Training are set out and met by all ATOs before they can Trainee at Atlantic Flight
Roy Forrest Phone
be granted with a license to be an ATO [15]. For the 50% Training Academy
failure rate at airline assessments to be what it is, this Chairman of Aircrew Training
means that the minimum standards set out in EASA’s Policy Group (ATPG) Face-to-
Andy O’Shea
Ex-Head of Training and Deputy Face
regulation are not the same as some airline standards. Chief Pilot of Ryanair
Nevertheless, current safety standards in the aviation
CEO of Aviation Selection
industry are indeed at an all-time high with the number Margie Burns
Consultants
Phone
of accidents resulting in fatalities being in a downward
Michael Ryan Head of Training of BAA Phone
trend for several years now [24]. However, it is very
much worth noting that the larger airlines with very Petter Base Type Rating Examiner at
Videocall
Hörnfeldt Mentour 360 SL
strict airline assessments for flight crew have
considerably better safety scores than smaller airlines. Head of Training at National
Darragh Owens Phone
Flight Centre
Not every airline’s data on airline assessment failure rate
is accessible, but most of the top airlines use similar if Douchan COO, Sofia Flight Training Face-to-
Stanulov Academy Face
not the same type of assessments [4, 18]. This shows a
probable correlation between those who have more lax Head of Training, Sofia Flight Face-to-
Stefan Stefanov
Training Academy Face
assessments and a significant increase in filed safety
Trainee at Sofia Lesnovo Face-to-
reports – at least from the reports filed in the following Slav Adanov
Academy Face
Air Crash Investigation Units for 2019: AAIU [1], BEA [5], Face-to-
BFU [6], and DSB [14]. However, for causality to be Anonymous Captain at a Low-Cost Airline
Face
confirmed, a much larger empirical study would need to Krasimir Type Rating Instructor Examiner Face-to-
be performed. Kucarovy at Wizz Air Face

3. Research Methodology 4. Analysis & Discussion

Document analysis is a method commonly used in As mentioned in the previous sections, the fact that
aviation [25]. For this specific topic, lack of statistics, challenges with pilot training and recruitment do exist is
record keeping, data protection and confidentiality irrefutable. The change in pass rates after the adoption
imposed major difficulties. One of the key interviewees of the APS MCC alone proves it to be true.
– Andy O’Shea- provided some data for Ryanair in this
practitioner paper “The Challenges of Pilot Supply” that The standards to which pilots are trained in ATOs are set
are presented in Section 4. by EASA and ICAO regulations. ICAO regulation on the
topic of training can be found in Annex 1 on Personnel
Due to the complexity of the topic, interviews with key Licensing [22]. This can mainly be split into two areas:
experts were conducted to provide empirical evidence. Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) which
The interview is a widely used research method in the Annex above is, and Doc 9868 “Procedures for Air
aviation that has been used in safety [25, 30], business Navigation Services – Training” (PANS-TRG) which is not
and complex issues [33, 17]. enforced, but acts as a recommendation, which relates
Table 1 lists the interviewees of this study. When it came to the responsibilities and guidelines in place for
to the sample size, twelve seemed like a reasonable approved training organizations [23]. The main issue
number providing for multiple people from each position faced here is that many of the proposals in the PANS-
to be interviewed to try and remove subjectivity even TRG are in fact guidelines that ATOs can decide whether
further by not relying anywhere on a single source (e.g. they are to be implemented and to what extent.
Three Heads of Training; Two Pilot Trainees, etc.) Due to Furthermore, since PANS-TRG are complementary to
the overwhelming benefits of face-to-face interviews, the SARPs and not mandatory, there is understandably a
they were the predominant type used; however, due to difference in the quality of ATOs with those who
limitations in availability, or due to several of the implement the extra steps, albeit probably cost more,

46
 L. M. Adanov et al., IJAST, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2020, DOI: 10.23890/IJAST.vm01is02.0201

and those who do not. Much like the choice of and say “oh I will get the theory out of the way” and a lot
implementing the APS MCC system or not from the side of (ATO) courses are structured to re-enforce that
of ATOs. message”. The other factor leading to poor training from
ATOs relates to the student-ATO relationship. O’Neill in
Reviewing application processes and consulting the
his interview stated that he is concerned that the
interviewees, we found that the average or typical
student pilots are resistant to getting honest feedback
standards for airline assessments of the major airlines in
during their training and the ATO’s receive pressure to
Europe, such as Aer Lingus, Air France, EasyJet, Ryanair,
treat them as customers that need to be satisfied.
Wizz Air, etc. are typically quite similar and follow the
same recommendations from ICAO and EASA. Most The issue here is finding out if this is down to regulatory
airlines have listed as acceptable criteria the same standards being too low; airline standards being too
minimums that ATOs are subjected to from these high; or if ATOs are failing to prepare students for what
regulations. Yet 50% of the applicants to these airlines is expected of them; or if it is simply down to the
coming out of ATOs supposedly fail these exact students. Stating that students fail simply because in any
assessments. This leads to the very important question exam there is a failure rate and it so happens that the one
of whether or not the minimum training required by to become a pilot is very high seems to dismiss any
regulation is even being met by some of these ATOs. possible underlying issue. Although there always are
additional factors including performance in exam
Interviewees Adanov and Kucarov stated that in some
situations, these assessments are for pilots who are
ATOs students would often not be tracked for the
supposed to, if successful, work in very stressful
number of hours flown. Not all ATOs possessed GPS
situations where there may be moments of limited time
tracking software in their aircraft to monitor student
to think and react to ongoing situations.
flights and very few instructors verify the information
students wrote down in their logbooks going back to the According to the interviewees, the main reasons for the
issues signalled by the Croatian Ministry of transport [3]. 50% failure rate at the airline assessments were: lack of
Furthermore, the approach given to the theoretical preparation or technical knowledge; poor
knowledge was looked at from the perspective of getting communication skills; or poor display of teamwork and
past it as quickly as possible as the evident culture at leadership. The first of these can be ameliorated by ATOs
some ATOs seems to look at just passing the exam and focusing on teaching the cadets only the theoretical
then forgetting all the material covered until then soon knowledge and how it can be applied in their job as flight
after as confirmed by interviewees Adanov, Owens and crew, and thus convert it to working and long-term
Kucarov. Owens stated that “A lot of students come in memory according to Cowan [13].

Table 2. Comparison of ATO and Airline Minimum Requirement

ATO Min. Aer Lingus Air France Reqs easyJet Reqs Ryanair Reqs Wizz Air Reqs
Training Reqs Reqs
Theoretical 14 ATPL exams for EASA CPL / Frozen EASA CPL / Frozen EASA CPL / Frozen EASA CPL / Frozen
EASA CPL / Frozen ATPL
Knowledge EASA CPL ATPL ATPL ATPL ATPL

Language English Operational English Operational Fluency in French & English Operational English Operational English Operational
Proficiency Level (Level 4) Level (Level 4) English Ops. Level (Level 4) Level (Level 4) Level (Level 4) Level (Level 4)
200hrs total|100hrs 1000hrs|500hrs on
100hrs as Pilot-in-
Experience as Pilot-in- M 200hrs a/c over 10T 200hrs
Command
Command MTOW
Medical
Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Class 1
Examination
Validity to work in
M Required Required Required Required Required
EU

APS MCC-
Not required M M M Preferred M
Training

MCC Training
Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory If applicable
Completed

Advanced UPRT Advanced UPRT Advanced UPRT Advanced UPRT Advanced UPRT Advanced UPRT
UPRT Certificate mandatory since mandatory since mandatory since mandatory since mandatory since mandatory since
20/12/2019 20/12/2019 20/12/2019 20/12/2019 20/12/2019 20/12/2019

Flight School
Mandatory M M M Mandatory M
Report
References Not required Mandatory M M M M

Vetting Procedure Not required Mandatory M M M Mandatory

Key Essential Criteria to
Not required M M M M
Competencies match
17yo to obtain PPL,
Age Limit 18 for CPL, 21 for M None M Not over 65 M
ATPL

47
 L. M. Adanov et al., IJAST, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2020, DOI: 10.23890/IJAST.vm01is02.0201

The database (of the ATPL exam) is of 19,000-20,000 there are exceptions to this rule where ‘Quality’ is
questions. Memorizing those questions without a actually the top deciding factor, but for the majority of
comprehensive understanding of the content is possible cadets ‘Price’ is indeed the biggest element. This
and poses a risk to the successful training of pilots typically splits the price-sensitive students with those
according to Adonov. All interviewees confirmed that who seek reputation and best quality.
airline assessments are not too difficult and do not differ
Those who are price-sensitive who seem to be the
significantly from the syllabus of ATOs. Table 2 compares
majority, and are self-sponsored, need to consider
the ATO and Airline Minimum Requirements. The
additional costs (e.g. relocation) according to
interviewees suggest that the difficulties seem to be in
interviewee Ryan and therefore their choices of ATOs
applying or even remembering the theory.
are even more limited to those with no financial
A very big issue seems to be the transfer from theory to constraints. The socio-economic background of the
practice, but when the exams only focus on rote- potential pilots is posing restrictions for their access to
learning it is difficult to encourage cadets to gain a quality training and many times attend ‘cheaper, but of
comprehensive understanding of concepts when it is a lower quality’ ATOs. Due to this, ATOs that are of lower
lot easier to just learn them by heart. The second reason or barely-acceptable quality are still getting students to
- ‘Communication skills’ range from the level of English train with them and they have no incentives to improve
proficiency by the cadet to the actual way of the quality of service. Many times, they promote high
communicating (tonality, clarity, etc.). This can be at employability rates capitalising in the strong industry
improved by ATOs by possibly providing additional trend –at least prior to COVID-19. However, the quality
lessons for students, at least concerning Aviation of graduating pilots is questionable.
Operational English on top of the typical modules or
If ATO minimum assessments for training standards and
outsourcing that to competent language schools. Finally,
airline assessments supposedly do not differ
core competencies are also important. Core
significantly, then some of the 50% of pilots who fail
competencies can be taught to some extent, but they are
should not be able to become pilots at all, or at least until
at the end of the day something people either have or do
they either redo parts of their training or improve
not [8].
certain skillsets. Yet, with unemployment of only 8%
The APS MCC system seems to cover almost all points (Note this is all before COVID-19 became a global
from the main reasons mentioned above. Considering it pandemic. Since then, numbers may differ greatly), it
has managed to improve initial approval figures up by means that 42% of students, who fail, still manage to get
25% on the pass rates, it should be considered by ATOs jobs in other airlines. However, a presumption that must
as an addition to the syllabus [31]. This seems to benefit be made is that not all 50% of those pilots who fail are
most parties since ATOs would not have to increase completely inadequate. Some of them are failing due to
screening processes and pre-training, which could have unfortunate circumstances on the day. Others could
resulted in a lower amount of students annually, but still, have still been properly trained, but simply did not ‘make
they would be able to guarantee higher quality cadets, the cut’ just barely and found work elsewhere while still
who have a seemingly higher success rate for passing being of very sound quality. As the anonymous
airline assessments. interviewee said “…there are some people who simply
may have performed poorly on the day of the assessment
Additionally, almost all interviewees believe that there is
but may actually end up being very good pilots. There are
a significant correlation between the fees an ATO
also cadets who are indeed poorly trained and poorly
charges and the quality of training with the higher prices
prepared but of course it depends on what kind of
ATOs offer a better training. Interviewees Hornfeldt and
additional training they would receive from the airline
Ryan suggest that low fees pose challenges to ATOs in
that then hires them”.
securing quality instructors and aircraft, but attractive
training material and facilities. The anonymous Furthermore, there are other reasons for pilot
interviewee believes that price is less correlated to unemployment too, aside from poor pilot qualification as
quality since price depends on the market’s economic it would be naïve to believe those assumptions account
situation and a country in Eastern Europe with a living for all 42% and some of them even may go back and
wage being a fraction of that of some western countries revise or retrain to pass again or may simply be taken in
cannot be expected to charge the same fee with Western all the same to be further trained by the airlines. This
ATOs (approximately €120,000). The interviewees argue latter method was in-depth discussed with Stanulov
that between ATOs in the higher priced bracket the when looking into the Lufthansa Technik’s approach to
difference in quality is actually very little and that the global shortage of Technical Staff such as engineers.
reputation and ATO-airline connections explain the Stanulov said, “They dropped the standards for
small price differences. recruitment due to this high demand and simply decided
to say “okay, we’ll just train them more ourselves then”.
According to interviews conducted with Adanov,
He suggests that this is a way for airlines to deal with the
Anonymous and Forrest, the top factors influencing the
global pilot shortage too, encouraging them to engage in
choice of the pilot academy for student-pilots are: a)
‘uptraining’ even lower quality pilots to reach their own
Price, b) Location and c) Quality of training. Of course,

48
 L. M. Adanov et al., IJAST, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2020, DOI: 10.23890/IJAST.vm01is02.0201

demand. All of this means that there are possibly airlines achieve were of sufficiently high standards as they
out there admitting pilots of lower standard than should matched the minimum requirements for some of the top
be acceptable, and even if all 50% who fail aren’t a European airlines for cadet pilots. This meant that the
concern, there still seems to be a considerable amount reasoning behind the 50% failure rate of some cadet
of them who most likely are worth raising worry. pilots of airline assessments in these very same airlines
Especially considering that, multiple interviewees had to be something else. Some of the key reasons for
believe that the cadet flight logbooks are being forged failure were established to be Insufficient Technical
with false hours. Kucarov believes that out of these 200 Knowledge and Preparation; Poor Communication Skills;
required hours, about 30% of the hours have not been Poor Teamwork or Lack of Leadership. This paper
flown by some pilots. determined that the main way of improving each of these
aspects either relied on the students themselves or on
Kelly and Efthymiou stated that Pilot error has been
the ATOs. Another possibility for the failure rates was do
attributed as the cause of many aviation accidents in the
with poor regulation over how strictly the monitoring of
past [25]. From statistics available from Air Accident
students in ATOs was undertaken. Though minimum
Investigation Units (AAIUs), in some of the major
requirements have been set, implementation and
countries in Europe, the majority of accident reports are
constant application is never a guarantee, especially in
linked to ‘smaller airlines’ probably with less strict airline
places where profits may be prioritised. Moreover, this
assessments for pilots. More accidents appeared to have
paper reviewed the possibility that the industry’s safety
occurred at least in 2019 by ‘smaller airlines; but for a
standards on which it relies so heavily may be affected
deeper understanding, an analysis into the causality of
by inadequate training of pilots. This further highlights
these accidents compared to the standards of pilot
the necessity for strict airline assessments and their
recruitment standards in the affected airlines would be
importance in keeping safety standards in the industry
more useful.
at an all-time high.
In a case from 2019, an accident report from the Safety
The responsibility for fixing the issue lies with ATOs and
Investigation Authority of Finland (SIAF) of flight
regulators. As stated by multiple interviewees,
MTL650P stated that “The airline had not completely
cooperation across the entire industry would be best for
complied with its own safety management system.
increasing safety, which in itself is no easy task.
Oversight authorities do not always detect the
Increased regulation from ICAO and EASA is highly
difference between the safety management that
recommended pushing for stricter admittance and pre-
operators promise to follow and their real-world
screening protocols for new cadets to ATOs. EASA
practices” [34]. This poses serious threats to the industry
regulations and guidelines are not as strict for pilot
especially if this is found to be applicable to pilot
training, as airline standards require for recruitments
recruitment by ‘smaller airlines’ where they aren’t forced
since they are the final entity in the chain responsible for
to comply strictly to the internal safety management
the safety of people.
system – the effects of which can become exponential if
the pilots aren’t of an acceptably high standard too as Further training in the form of the APS MCC system to
stated by interviewee Kucarov. be added by more ATOs is also necessary. Regular audits
to ensure the existence, and boost the effectiveness, of
All of this leads back to some extent to the Interviewee
their pilot assessments and recruitment processes in
Stanulov suggests that suggest only when a problem or
order to increase safety are also needed. The
an accident actually occurs do people go back to
introduction of mandatory pre-screening at all ATO’s as
evaluate the training of these pilots and often it is far too
in an industry governed by safety values should be
late.
prioritised over the short-term business interests.
In an industry supposedly governed by safety, the lack of Finally, the integration of the APS MCC system in the
efficient and effective regulation imposed on ATOs to training syllabus of ATO’s or making it a mandatory
screen potential future pilots or train them to a more course for pilots to ensure they are capable of working
appropriate airline standard is a serious flaw. in an airline environment to the airline standard can have
Furthermore, ‘smaller airlines’ should invest more a significant impact on effective training and success of
heavily in pilot screening as well, though issues arise pilots in assessments.
with this too as the predicted future pilot shortage does
A further research on the factors that affect pilot
pressure these airlines to accept any candidates that
performance in airline assessments as well as an
apply more often than not. According to Stefanov some
empirical study on safety implications of pilots receiving
airlines’ pilot recruitment process lacks thorough
certification from ATO’s while being possibly
assessments and requires only the provision of
unprepared is recommended. Moreover, pilot retention
documentation.
is another important area that remains under
researched. The attraction, retention and promotion of
5. Conclusions & Recommendations female pilots should also be investigated. Finally, the
impact of COVID-19 on pilots negotiating power and the
This paper established that the minimum standards set business sustainability of ATOs need to be researched.
by regulatory bodies like EASA and ICAO for ATO’s to
49
 L. M. Adanov et al., IJAST, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2020, DOI: 10.23890/IJAST.vm01is02.0201

References long-term, short-term, and working memory? In W.

S. Sossin, J.-C. Lacaille, V. F. Castellucci, & S.
[1] AAIU. (2020). Reports Overview. Retrieved February Belleville (Eds.), Progress in brain research (pp. pp.
25, 2020, from http://www.aaiu.ie/reports 323-338). Missouri: Elsevier.

[2] Airbus. (2019, August). Global Market Forecast: [14] DSB. (2020). Dutch Safety Board - All Investigations.
2019-2038. Retrieved November 2nd, 2019, from Retrieved February 25, 2020, from
https://www.airbus.com/content/dam/corporat https://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/en/page/368/a
e-topics/strategy/global-market-forecast/GMF- viation#eyJoYXNvYmplY3RzIjpbXSwiYW55a2V5d2
2019-2038-Airbus-Commercial-Aircraft-book.pdf 9yZCI6W10sInR5cGUiOiJsaXN0IiwiZmFjZXRzIjp7fX
0=
[3] Andraši, P., Domitrović, A., & Topolčány, R. (2014,
November 13-14th). Organisation Management and [15] EASA. (2011, November 3). Commission Regulation
Compliance Monitoring of Approved Training (EU) No. 1178/2011. Official Journal of the European
Organisation. Zagreb, Croatia: International Commission.
Conference of Air Transport, INAR 2014:“Europe: [16] EASA. (2016). NPA 2016-16: Regular update of Part-
How to Stay Connected?". FCL - Regular update of Regulation (EU) No.
[4] AON. (2020). Cut-e: Talent Assessment for Aviation. 1178/2011 regarding pilot training ad licensing and
Retrieved February 25, 2020, from the related oversight. Cologne, Germany: EASA.
https://assessment.aon.com/en-us/assessment- [17] Efthymiou, M., & Papatheodorou, A. (2020).
solutions/assessing-for-the-aviation-sector Environmental Policies in European Aviation: A
[5] BEA. (2020). Recent Investigations. Retrieved Stakeholder Management Perspective. In
February 25, 2020, from Sustainable Aviation (pp. 101-125). Palgrave
https://www.bea.aero/index.php?id=8&no_cache Macmillan, Cham.
=1&L=1 [18] EPST. (2020). European Pilot Selection & Training:
[6] BFU. (2020). BFU Publications - Investigation Types of Aptitude Tests. Retrieved February 25,
Reports. Retrieved February 25, 2020, from 2020, from
https://www.bfu- https://pilotaptitudetest.com/knowledgebase_ca
web.de/EN/Publications/Investigation%20Report tegory/aptitude-test-types/
/reports_node.html Efthymiou, M., Usher, D., O'Connell, J. F., Warnock-
[7] Boeing. (2019). Boeing's Market Outlook: Pilot & Smith, D., & Conyngham, G. (2021). The factors
Technician Outlook. Retrieved November 2nd, 2019, influencing entry level airline pilot retention: An
from empirical study of Ryanair. Journal of Air Transport
https://www.boeing.com/commercial/market/pi Management, 91, 101997.
lot-technician-outlook/ [20] FTE Jerez. (2019). Airline First Officer Programme:
[8] Burns, M. (2018). Everything You Need to Know Fees and Payment. Retrieved November 7th, 2019,
About Becoming an Airline Pilot (1st ed.). Dublin: from
Kingdom Printers Limited. http://www.ftejerez.com/downloads/FTE_AFOP
_price_sheet.pdf
[9] Butcher, J. N. (2003). Assessing Pilots with ‘the
Wrong Stuff’: A Call for Research on Emotional [21] Hilliard, M. (2017). The Irish Times. Retrieved
Health Factors in Commercial Aviators. February 25, 2020, from
International Journal of Selection and Assessment, https://www.irishtimes.com/business/work/con
10(1-2). cerned-pilots-say-deregulation-has-undermined-
their-work-1.3167723
[10] CAE. (2017, June). Airline Pilot Demand Outlook: 10-
year view. Retrieved November 3rd, 2019, from [22] ICAO. (2006). International Standards and
https://www.cae.com/media/documents/Civil_ Recommended Practices: Annex 1 to the Convention
Aviation/CAE-Airline-Pilot-Demand-Outlook- on the International Civil Aviation - Personnel
Spread.pdf Licensing. Montreal: ICAO.

[11] CAE. (2020). Our Pilot Training Programmes. [23] ICAO. (2016). Doc 9868, Procedures for Air
Retrieved February 25, 2020, from Navigation Services - Training. Montreal: ICAO.
https://www.cae.com/civil-aviation/become-a- [24] Kaspers, S., Karanikas, N., Roelen, A., Piric, S., Aalst,
pilot/our-pilot-training-programmes/integrated- R. v., & Boer, R. d. (2016). Exploring the diversity in
atpl-oxford/ safety measurement practices: Empirical results
[12] Civil Aviation Training Magazine. (2019). Serious from aviation. Journal of Safety Studies , 2(2), 18-29.
Business in Berlin. CAT, 1(6), pp. 1-4. [25] Kelly, D., & Efthymiou, M. (2019). An analysis of
[13] Cowan, N. (2008). What are the differences between human factors in fifty controlled flight into terrain

50
 L. M. Adanov et al., IJAST, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2020, DOI: 10.23890/IJAST.vm01is02.0201

aviation accidents from 2007 to 2017. Journal of

Safety Research, 69, 155-165.
[26] Lehman, C. (2014). Bringing Walls Down in Berlin.
The Journal for Civil Aviation Training (CAT), 1(1), pp.
10-14.
[27] Mavin, T. J., Roth, W.-M., & Dekker, S. (2013).
Understanding Variance in Pilot Performance
Ratings. Aviation Psychology and Applied Human
Factors, 3, 53-62.
[28] Mitchell, S. J., & Evans, A. D. (2004). Flight Safety and
Medical Incapacitation Risk of Airline Pilots.
Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 75(3),
260-268.
[29] Morse, J. M. (1998). The Contracted Relationship:
Ensuring Protection of Anonymity and
Confidentiality. Qualitative Health Research, 8(3),
pp. 301-303.
[30] Murphy, G., & Efthymiou, M. (2017). Aviation safety
regulation in the multi-stakeholder environment of
an airport. Journal of Air Transport Studies, 8(2), 1-
26.
[31] O'Shea, A. (2014). Competency Based Training and
Assessment in APS MCC. Berlin: European Airline
Training Symposium (EATS).
[32] Pulakos, E. D., & Schmitt, N. (1995). Experience-
based and situational interview questions: Studies
of validity. Personnel Psychology, 48(2), pp. 289-
308.
[33] Renehan, D., & Efthymiou, M. (2020). Transatlantic
Market Competition between Hybrid Carrier and
Long-Haul Low-Cost Carrier Business Models.
Journal of Aerospace Technology and Management,
12, e1820. https://dx.doi.org/10.5028/jatm.v12.1110
[34] SIAF. (2019). Airliner Veering Off the Runway During
Landing Roll at Savonlinna Airport on 7 January
2019. Helsinki: Safety Investigation Authority
Finland.
[35] Valenta, V. (2018). Effects of Airline Industry Growth
on Pilot Training. MAD - Magazine of Aviation
Development, 6(4), pp. 52-56.
[36] Wizz Air. (2019). Wizz Air Pilot Academy: Program
Guidebook. Retrieved November 4th, 2019, from
https://pilot-
academy.wizzair.com/assets/pdf/WAPA_brochur
e_UNIFIED.pdf

51

View publication stats