COVID-19 Lessons

Elim Hawkins

Friday, July 24, 2020 at 09:35 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

COVID-19 led to significant ATC staffing reductions, creating increased workload for controllers and forcing the curtailment of services, even as flight activity, particularly from flight schools, resumed quickly.
The pandemic shifted flying demographics towards less experienced pilots, resulting in a degradation of fundamental skills like radio communication and a dangerous increase in non-compliance with critical ATC instructions, such as readbacks.
The aviation system faces a gradual return to pre-COVID-19 safety and efficiency, requiring both pilots and controllers to address potential skill degradation and adapt to ongoing operational challenges.

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The first thing that happened was a sudden shift in “safety” concerns over to handling COVID- 19. Should I go fly? Wear a mask? But, where we began and where we’re headed now are two very different paradigms. The aviation safety culture we’ve built over decades is somewhat perishable—it’s not just like “riding a bike”—and it’s dynamic in that some things have to change and adapt to new realities for the overall safety focus to remain viable.

Initial Impact

Back in the January/February time frame, the NAS was hopping. Airlines to flight training were all moving with a purpose in an often near-full system. Then COVID-19 nearly shut it all down.