How can you make air transport more reliable?

1 Understand the causes of unreliability

The first step to improve the reliability of air transport is to identify and analyze the main factors that can cause delays, cancellations, diversions, or accidents. Some of these factors are external, such as weather conditions, air traffic congestion, security threats, or natural disasters. Others are internal, such as maintenance issues, crew fatigue, communication breakdowns, or system malfunctions. By understanding the causes of unreliability, you can prioritize the most critical and frequent problems and design solutions accordingly.

2 Implement preventive and predictive maintenance

One of the key aspects of ensuring the reliability of air transport is to maintain the aircraft and the infrastructure in optimal condition. This means not only performing regular inspections and repairs, but also using advanced technologies such as sensors, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and blockchain to monitor the performance and condition of the components and systems, and to predict and prevent potential failures before they occur. By implementing preventive and predictive maintenance, you can reduce the costs and risks of downtime, improve the availability and efficiency of the assets, and enhance the safety and satisfaction of the passengers.

3 Enhance the human factor

Another important element of improving the reliability of air transport is to enhance the human factor, which refers to the skills, attitudes, behaviors, and interactions of the people involved in the operation. This includes the pilots, the crew, the ground staff, the air traffic controllers, and the passengers. To enhance the human factor, you need to provide adequate training, education, and feedback, foster a culture of safety and professionalism, promote teamwork and collaboration, and support the well-being and mental health of the personnel. By enhancing the human factor, you can improve the performance and decision-making, reduce the errors and conflicts, and increase the trust and loyalty of the stakeholders.

4 Adopt digital and smart solutions

A third way to make air transport more reliable is to adopt digital and smart solutions that can improve the efficiency and quality of the processes and services. This includes using cloud computing, internet of things, big data, and machine learning to collect, store, analyze, and share information across the network, and to optimize the planning, scheduling, routing, and management of the flights. It also includes using biometrics, blockchain, and cybersecurity to enhance the security and identity verification of the passengers and the staff, and to protect the systems and data from unauthorized access or attacks. By adopting digital and smart solutions, you can increase the speed and accuracy of the operations, reduce the costs and waste, and improve the customer experience and satisfaction.

5 Embrace innovation and sustainability

A final way to make air transport more reliable is to embrace innovation and sustainability, which means to explore new ways of designing, building, and operating the aircraft and the infrastructure, and to reduce the environmental and social impacts of the industry. This includes using alternative fuels, renewable energy, and carbon capture to lower the emissions and noise of the flights, and to mitigate the effects of climate change. It also includes using new materials, shapes, and technologies to create more aerodynamic, lightweight, and resilient aircraft, and to increase the capacity and flexibility of the airports. By embracing innovation and sustainability, you can enhance the performance and durability of the assets, reduce the dependence and vulnerability of the resources, and improve the reputation and competitiveness of the industry.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?