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Introduction
Among the various segments of society affected by the COVID-191 pandemic over the past year and a half, few were hit as hard as the aviation industry. At its worst point, in March 2020, passenger volumes for U.S. airlines had dropped more than 95 percent. At the time of this workshop, passenger volumes were still 23 percent below pre-pandemic levels.2 Airlines, airports, aircraft manufacturers, and other components of the air travel system faced an unprecedented challenge, with threats to the health of passengers and crews combined with threats to the financial health of the entire system.
To address the many COVID-related issues facing the aviation industry, on June 28–30, 2021, the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (ASEB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a 3-day workshop, Aviation After a Year of Pandemic—Economics, People, and Technology. Funded by the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) and held remotely via Zoom, the workshop focused on four specific areas regarding the effects of COVID on the aviation industry: economics, personnel, technology, and next steps.
As John-Paul Clarke, chair of the workshop planning committee, explained in his opening remarks at the workshop, the 3 days of talks were divided into six sessions. The first consisted of two keynote addresses designed to provide an overview of the COVID pandemic and its effects on the airline industry. The second session, with presentations by four panelists followed by a question-and-answer period, was devoted to policies and procedures of airlines, airports, government agencies, and other stakeholders. This session focused on changes in policies and procedures that could expedite a return to safe, yet unrestricted travel and minimize the impact of future pandemics.
The third and fourth sessions were held on the workshop’s second day. The topic of the third session, which had three presenters, was aircraft design and flight operations, personnel, and performance. Among the topics of discussion were the design of future aircraft in reducing the risk of disease transmission and changes that should be made to the training of airline crew members concerning their interactions with passengers. The fourth session focused on airports, ground transportation, and air traffic management. A three-speaker panel discussed ways in which the operations, personnel, and performance of these air travel components might be modified to better respond to passenger needs and limit the transmission of infectious diseases such as COVID.
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1 Although some speakers referred to the pandemic virus as SARS-CoV-2, for consistency the virus is referred to as COVID-19 or just COVID throughout this document.
The workshop’s third day also contained two sessions. Session 5 was devoted to aviation economics. Its four speakers discussed how the pandemic has affected the economics of the aviation industry and what can be done to mitigate these effects and ensure the long-term viability of that industry. Last, session 6 was a wrap-up session, with summaries provided of each of sessions 2 through 5, followed by a concluding discussion period.
This workshop proceedings recounts the presentations and discussions at the workshop. Thus, in addition to this introductory chapter there are six other chapters, one for each of the workshop’s six sessions. The chapters follow the order of the sessions, with Chapter 2 recounting session 1, and so forth.
It is important to keep in mind when reading these proceedings that this publication summarizes the positions and opinions expressed by speakers at the workshop. They do not reflect the position of the National Academies, nor have they been vetted for accuracy. The workshop presenters and audience members were not asked to come to consensus opinions, and any recommendations included herein are those of individuals, not the group as a whole.