Introduction
The high pace of globalization peculiar to the modern world preconditions a corresponding change in various industries necessary to support this process. That is why civil aviation becomes the sphere that experiences the rapid evolution today and acquires the strategic meaning for states. The tendency towards the increase in the number of travelers, tourists, and common people visiting different countries also promotes the further growth of the sector and its increasing influence of international intercourse (Ferguson and Nelson, 2013). Additionally, aviation also works as a potent policy tool that helps states to cooperate and achieve their goals in different areas. For this reason, there is a critical need to guarantee the safety of flights and passengers. Global and state agencies are focused on the creation of a robust approach to security management with the primary goal of avoiding accidents and creating the basis for the future rise of the sector. Ireland, as one of the European nations, is also concerned about civil aviation safety and has its own recommendations and plans towards the achievement of success in the given area and minimization of risks preconditioned by the diversification of threats and emergence of new challenges.
Objectives
The regulations of Ireland and its safety management are taken as the basis for the case study presented in the paper. The following objectives are formulated to analyze the case study and improve the understanding of the major issues related to aviation safety:
- To present the existing position of Ireland on aviation safety and its strategic management
- To investigate reports on accidents in Ireland in 2019, and its Safety Plan to outline the major takeaways and discuss them
- To outline the existing problems and possible areas of improvements
- To debate on the future of the sphere and what hazards will become relevant
- To discuss ICAO, IATA, EASA recommendations on safety management and determine whether Ireland follows them
- To conclude about the overall effectiveness of methods and goals outlined by Ireland to guarantee safety in the sphere
- To create the basis for future research devoted to the same issue
Current Strategic Position
The State Plan for Aviation Safety (SPAS) is the central document introduced to regulate the functioning of civil aviation in the state and ensure its substantial development. It is offered by the Irish Aviation Authority Safety Regulation Division (IAA) as a response to emerging threats and the tendency towards the increasing complexity peculiar to the sphere. The safety management system presupposes the five main aspects vital for the enhanced work of civil aviation:
- Identify
- Assess
- Plan
- Implement
- Monitor (IAA, 2019a)
These pillars form a cycle of effective management required to avoid accidents and guarantee safety to passengers. It means that the identification and evaluation of threats are fundamental for their control through effective planning of solutions, their implementation, and monitoring of outcomes to introduce some alterations if needed (IAA, 2019a). Moreover, this method can guarantee the continuity of safety management by collecting relevant data and its use for improved problem-resolution.
Strategic Objectives
To explain its current vision of safety management and strategic position regarding civil aviation, IAA formulates objectives that should be achieved to minimize the risk of accidents and problems. These include:
- Addressing all operational risks and their assessment
- Collaboration with EU member states
- Cultivation of safety culture through hazard identification
- Implementation of risk-based safety oversight
- Creation of an effective safety management model (IAA, 2019a).
In such a way, it is possible to admit that IAA is focused on the enablement of sustainable civil aviation via the improved data collection, consideration of international standards and regulations, and promotion of practices that might help to attain success in the future.
Risk Management
As stated above, civil aviation presupposes the existence of multiple risks and the emergence of new ones because of the growing importance and complexity of the sector. For this reason, IAA recognizes the importance of this aspect and its fundamental role in safety management. SPAS offers the central risks and challenges that should be given significant attention because of their outstanding influence on the sector and the high opportunity of undesired outcomes (IAA, 2015). At the same time, promotion of safety culture, consideration of current industry’s needs, and effective resource management are viewed as appropriate responses to these risks (IAA, 2019a). The agency also puts emphasis on components of safety management systems that should be developed to protect all individuals engaged in the functioning of the sphere:
The continuous improvement of all these elements is the core of the Irish plan of safety management as they encompass all areas vital for the achievement of high levels of effectiveness and are interconnected, which means that the progress in one field should be followed by the advances in another to avoid problematic issues in the future.
The increased attention to risks is also justified by the fact that in the SPAS, IAA (2019a) outlines systematic and specific risks peculiar to civil aviation. The agency emphasizes the fact that their effective management might demand much effort and should be given resources to avoid deterioration of the situation. The risks fall into two categories:
Figure 2. Types of risks (IAA, 2019a).
As one can see, these risks are critically important for the stable functioning of civil aviation as they cover the essential areas, and the emergence of problems in one of the identified spheres might result in causing substantial harm to aircraft, passengers, or workers. For this reason, IAA (2019a) considers the effective risk management via the full-risk-based model its prior goal and the main aspect of its safety management approach.
Cooperation with the EU States and Agencies
Finally, IAA views cooperation with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International Air Transport Association (IATA), and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) as the potent way to remain capable of detecting and managing current threats and risks. For this reason, the major assumptions of the SPAS are interconnected with the Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP) and the European Plan for Aviation Safety (EPAS) to guarantee that there is adequate data and experience sharing and contribution to the development of global civil aviation safety management.
Current Deficiencies and IAA’s Responses
In accordance with Safety Performance Review 2019, the situation in civil aviation remains positive, and there are some serious improvements achieved in the area. Unfortunately, there are still some accidents that occurred due to different factors. The data shows that in recent 5 years, 22 incidents have happened (IAA, 2019b). The reports about the incidents outline various causes for the emergence of undesired situations. Analyzing them, it also possible to conclude whether the SPAS can address these deficiencies:
Figure 3. Deficiencies and IAA’s focus areas.
In such a way, the analysis of existing deficiencies shows that the SPAS offered by IAA devotes much attention to risks that might precondition accidents of this sort, which means that it becomes capable of minimizing the incidence rates in the future by achieving the outlined goals. At the same time, there are areas for the improvement, as little attention is devoted to the development of effective security systems that will protect aircraft and airports from intrusions, hacker attacks, and maleficent actions performed by other individuals or groups with the primary goal to cause serious damage to the sector (A risk-based approach to aviation safety regulation, no date; Merens and Murad, 2019). Additionally, IAA devotes little attention to the problem of environmental safety or the effective use of resources, which might also be one of the important concerns for aviation in the future (Benny, 2016). However, it is possible to state that the plan of actions offered by the SPAS suffices the current situation and challenges peculiar to civil aviation in Ireland and helps to establish a safe environment in the future because of its attention to the central aspects.
Strategic Choices & Best Practices
The existing approach to safety management is significantly impacted by various international organizations, such as ICAO, IATA, EASA, or Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO). These agencies are focused on data sharing and cooperation to create a unified method to guarantee security and safety to all passengers and specialists. Thus, ICAO (2020) prioritizes safety and views it as the pivotal aim for the following improvements. It acknowledges the fact that the growth in the number of passengers preconditions the increasing complexity of major operations, which means that there is a need for the continuous improvement of safety measures and approaches (ICAO, 2017). GASP, as a part of the global safety system, is viewed by ICAO as a possible way to drive positive change by outlining the safety enhancement incentives (SEIs) that are related to the most challenging areas (ICAO, 2019). Additionally, the organization outlines the necessity to develop risk awareness, develop quality assurance and security culture, and foster cooperation as the determinants of success in the future (ICAO, 2019).
IATA supports the position of ICAO and admits the need for better collaboration in terms of safety management. Its strategic position presupposes the globalization of efforts to counter new threats and sharing data and experience to attain success (IATA, no date). Together with ICAO, IATA also promotes the idea of combined effort to be ready to assess all possible risks and create plans that will help state agencies to remain capable of resisting and managing them (IATA, no date; IATA, 2019). The contribution of these two agencies is substantial and becomes a key to the achievement of future success.
Similarly, ICAO, and IATA, EASA also acknowledge the critical importance of safety management and its fundamental role in civil aviation today. The model offered by the agency consists of several elements:
- Identification of safety issues
- Assessment of safety issues
- Definition and programming of safety actions
- Implementing new solutions
- Measurement of safety performance (EASA, 2020)
This model demonstrates the increased effectiveness in different situations and guarantees that specialists responsible for the correct functioning of the sphere will remain capable of protecting aircraft and people. Systematic improvement of all components is viewed as a key to the achievement of success and elimination of threats relevant to the sphere.
Finally, CANSO also contributes to the development of global safety management by offering its recommendations. The organization is focused on the integration of innovative technologies, such as AI, to enhance performance today and attain better outcomes (CANSO, 2018). Leading the UN nations towards the collaborative effort aimed at achieving success, CANSO offers its recommendations and contributes to the improvement of the overall situation in civil aviation (CANSO, 2018). It provides opportunities for specialist training, education, and broadening of knowledge in different areas linked to safety management (Stolzer and Gogila, 2016). Under these conditions, it should be viewed as a critical part of international aviation cooperation.
Irish Aviation Safety Plan and International Recommendations
In such a way, it is possible to state that ICAO, IATA, EASA, and CANSO have similar views on organizing safety management and risk assessment. As for the IAA, the agency cultivates its cooperation with these units and views GASP 2020-2022 as one of the fundamental documents needed for the achievement of success and reduction in the number of accidents. For this reason, the goals offered by the SPAS are consistent with the ideas proclaimed by other UE nations and organizations representing them. The ICAO or IATA’s guidelines are integrated into the IAA’s report and save as milestones to monitor success and the current state of the problem.
Several factors prove the outlined consistency. As organizations mentioned above, IAA views a risk-based approach as the most effective measure to attain success and avoid new accidents (IAA, 2019a). At the same time, the Irish regulatory body acknowledges the need for continuous improvement and better data collection to create the basis for future successes and better problem-resolution. Finally, the SPAS presupposes the focus on the most nagging and relevant issues indicated by recent reports, and, at the same time, emphasized by ICAO, IATA, and EASA in their guidelines. In such a way, it is possible to state that IAA joins the international discourse and collaborates with other agencies to attain success in safety management.
Conclusion
Altogether, it is possible to conclude that IAA is concerned about the growing complexity of civil aviation and the challenges it faces. For this reason, the agency offers the SPAS, a plan of actions aimed at improving the most critical areas and eliminating deficiencies outlined in Accident Reports 2019. Additionally, the approaches selected by IAA coincide with the ICAO and IATA’s recommendations, which means that Ireland is an important actor facilitating international cooperation on safety management. The observation of the major goals formulated in the SPAS can help to achieve higher security levels and protect passengers and other individuals involved in the functioning of the sphere.
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