Lion Air: There Is Concern That The COVID-19 Pandemic Will Affect The Quality And Skills Of Pilots

Lion Air aircraft. (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - The COVID-19 pandemic has hit various sectors of the economy, without exception, including the air transportation sector. Airlines have also been affected by this pandemic, one of which is the decrease in the number of passengers.

President Director of Angkasa Aviasi Service (Lion Group) Capt Wisnu Wijayanto revealed the massive impact of the pandemic on his airline group. According to him, the pandemic will greatly affect the sustainability of the flight crew's work.

"For our group to work, this pandemic means directly affecting 1,900 pilots, around 3,000 cabin crew, and around 25,000 other support employees. The problems are quite a lot starting from common problems such as health, reduced financial capacity, which also contributed very negatively. for the economy, "he said, in a virtual discussion, Wednesday, September 23.

In addition, there is another danger behind the sluggishness of air transportation amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Wisnu said, if the situation does not change, there may also be additional problems that may not be directly related to the economy. However, it will still be related, namely the reduced proficiency or proficiency of aircraft crews in performing work.

The skill of the flight crew, according to Wisnu, is crucial because it is the core of air transportation. For example, the job of a pilot is different from other transportation drivers because of the very high complexity of the environment, the time available for making decisions is very little and the control axes that must be maintained are very multidimensional.

Furthermore, said Wisnu, besides being needed psychomotor abilities, cognitive abilities and even metacognitive abilities were also needed when flying an airplane. The key to maintaining all of that is only one practice, either by flying an airplane while on duty or practicing while doing training.

"The two of them support each other, complement each other, but cannot replace each other. So that both operational hours and training must be obtained in a balanced manner," he said.

Currently, said Wisnu, the skill level of the flight crew is still good. This means that the average flight crew can still get 50 percent of their pre-pandemic flight experience. However, he said, if things got worse, there would certainly be less, and would affect the pilot's proficiency level.

"Of course, the airlines will not stay idle and will try to distribute their expertise. Now the effect can also be bad because later the airlines will certainly remap the flight crew," he said.

Wisnu said, if the pandemic continues and the aviation sector cannot revive, the impact will be very bad. For the flight crew themselves, he said, this would lead to unpaid leave.

"In the end, there will be involuntary unpaid leave for some crew members and so on. This of course the effect on the economy is also not good," he explained.