Civil Aviation Approach to Safety Risk Management: A New Perspective on a Mature Process

Abstract

This literature review aims at reflecting on current issues about how Civil Aviation Industry manages the notion of Risk. In face of recent indisputable challenges, such as COVID-19 Pandemic, geopolitical and energy crisis as well as unpredictable markets, but also chronically experienced volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, as the main characteristics of the aviation operational environment (VUCA World), Aviation industry has to accept that this is the norm and consequently, do more. We suggest the adoption of the Sustainability-Ethics-Resilience, SER, aviation specific, overarching approach for managing Safety Risk, as an evolution of the generalized business model of ESG, and we provide reasons and solutions for that, based on evidence from the academic and the operational world. A systematic, five-step research method process for literature review has been used. We have taken into consideration article publication year 2017 onwards, and some classical ones from earlier on, using credible academic databases, complemented by statistical data, data on contemporary approach to safety risk management, as well as other aviation related data from aviation dedicated sites and official websites of multiple aviation key stakeholders.