THE FUTURE OF PASSENGER AIR TRANSPORT – VERY LARGE AIRCRAFT AND OUT KEY HUMAN FACTORS AFFECTING THE OPERATION AND SAFETY OF PASSENGER AIR TRANSPORT

• Main Author: Petra Skolilova
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: CTU Central Library 2017-12-01
• Series: Acta Polytechnica CTU Proceedings
• Subjects: VLA, human factors, air transport, air traffic, security
• Online Access: https://ojs.cvut.cz/ojs/index.php/APP/article/view/4031

The article outlines some human factors affecting the operation and safety of passenger air transport given the massive increase in the use of the VLA. Decrease of the impact of the CO2 world emissions is one of the key goals for the new aircraft design. The main wave is going to reduce the burned fuel. Therefore, the eco-efficiency engines combined with reasonable economic operation of the aircraft are very important from an aviation perspective. The prediction for the year 2030 says that about 90% of people, which will use long-haul flights to fly between big cities. So, the A380 was designed exactly for this time period, with a focus on the right capacity, right operating cost and right fuel burn per seat. There is no aircraft today with better fuel burn combined with eco-efficiency per seat, than the A380. The very large aircrafts (VLAs) are the future of the commercial passenger aviation. Operating cost versus safety or CO2 emissions versus increasing automation inside the new generation aircraft. Almost 80% of the world aircraft accidents are caused by human error based on wrong action, reaction or final decision of pilots, the catastrophic failures of aircraft systems, or air traffic control errors are not so frequent. So, we are at the beginning of a new age in passenger aviation and the role of the human factor is more important than ever.