Synergy for the New Normal: Providing our passengers with the safest, cleanest, and most hassle-free flights, and ensuring crew is protected as they work are going to be our top priorities in the coming months. As the aviation world begins to open post-COVID, it’s important we have some form of synergy for this new normal to give our industry the best chance of quick recovery. As countries are beginning to communicate their standard operating protocols for private aircraft and charter operations, the benefits of countries streamlining their SOPs and creating one international standard are clear. It is also important for countries to work together to mitigate, and to be prepared to deal with, any potential second wave of COVID-19.
Any operator planning a mission at a time like this understands the challenges involved as different countries, regions – even different airports – scramble to ensure operational safety. Without a clear SOP delays, misunderstandings, and complications are inevitable. The creation of a global standard would mitigate this. Standards or guidelines should be based on health and safety practices laid out by regional business aviation associations, ICAO, IATA, and WHO to cover every aspect of the passengers’ and crews’ journey from ground handling, in-flight catering, customs and immigration, ground transport, and accommodation. It’s also crucial that aviation is treated in a more customized way with different approaches for commercial operations, cargo flights, business aviation, etc.
All ground transport providers should be expected to provide the same standard of cleaning and disinfecting while also complying with the requirements of their local government. Inflight catering providers will have to adhere to strict rules for the safe receipt, preparation, and delivery of food. Ground employees will have to follow the airports’ safety protocol, as well as the regulations as set out by their respective state governments. They will have to consider the necessity of social distancing, what PPE is required for which roles, as well as the sterilization procedures.
Reducing possible points of contact throughout the entry customer journey will be vital. The main concern of the passenger will be to complete their journey with the least possible risk of exposure. Employees must be given definite and detailed instructions for passenger and crew management, disinfecting procedures, facility management, aircraft handling, disinfection, and cleaning, and what to do if a passenger, crew member, or employee shows signs of infection.
If we have learned anything over the past few months, it is the necessity to come up with a global approach to manage pandemics of this kind in the future to ensure we’re not taken by surprise again as we have been this time. Having international operating standards for the containment of viruses would empower aviation to begin the new normal with the highest certainty of recovery that is available.
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Mitch Launius
Instructor Pilot for 30 West IP
Mitch is the CEO of 30 West IP where he is also an instructor providing pilot training on international procedures. With an illustrious career of over 34 years in the cockpit, Mitch has acquired over 13,000 hours of flight time flying worldwide, with over 9,000 hours of this in Challenger and Gulfstream aircraft. He is an experienced safety officer and was also an IS-BAO project manager for a fortune 500 flight department. He has presented on Safety and Operations topics at the NBAA International Operators Conference and the Canadian Business Aviation Association Convention and is currently on the NBAA International Operators Committee and serves as the North Atlantic Regional Lead. Mitch is also a member of an FAA working group on General Aviation International Authorizations and Tabletop Exercises (GIATE). He was recently selected to represent IBAC as a member of the ICAO Personal Training and Licensing Panel (PTLP) and was also recently named as a 2020 recipient of the NBAA Tony Kern Professionalism in Aviation Award for his contribution to the business aviation community.
Henry ‘Duke’ LeDuc
Director Of Operations, Americas, UAS International Trip Support
Duke has been a dearly respected member of UAS Americas team and the UAS global family for more than five years. A safety-oriented, FAA-licensed aircraft dispatcher, he oversees all of the operations of the elite UAS Operations Team. With twenty-five years of experience in aviation overall with more than fifteen years of experience in international flight planning and VVIP trip coordination, he is responsible for the development of the dispatch training program and involved in the strategic development of UAS Americas. With a myriad of rich aviation experience behind him, he has extensive experience in worldwide operations with both corporate and charter environments, including seven years as Operations/Dispatch Manager in an industry-leading, Fortune 500, IS-BAO Stage III Certified corporate flight department. Duke is frequently asked shares his knowledge at major industry events and is currently serving on the NBAA’s International Operators Conference (IOC) Planning Committee.
Dudley King
President and Founder, FlightBridge
Dudley is the Founder and President of FlightBridge, which he established in 2011 and has been focused on technology solutions for the private aviation industry since 2006. Since he graduated from Dartmouth in 1988, he has worked with an array of companies listed anywhere from VentureWire to the Fortune 100. A rare blend of executive, entrepreneur, and consultant, Dudley’s executive roles have included acting CIO positions for several companies and tech advisory services to CEOs trying to rebuild their technology organizations or looking for an external, professional point of view. Highly skilled at deeply understanding his customer’s business challenges and drawing from a long and varied experience in information technology services, Dudley excels at designing technology solutions to solve their problems.
Dr. Paulo Alves
Global Medical Director, Aviation Health, Medaire
Paulo has extensive experience in medical advisory in the aviation industry. As a cardiologist, he provides technical guidance and analysis for MedAire’s MedLink medical advisory service and is MedAire’s liaison with civil aviation regulators and industry associations. Paulo worked with Varig Brazilian Airlines for 23 years, 10 of which were spent as General Medical Manager. A member of the MedAire Medical Advisory Board, Paulo is also President of the Ibero-American Aerospace Medical Association, a member of the International Academy of Aerospace Medicine, a member of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Safety Committee, a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA), and a Fellow of the Civil Aviation Medical Association. Throughout his illustrious career, Paulo has held industry leadership roles including Chairperson of the AsMA’s Air Transport Medicine Committee, President of the Airlines Medical Directors Association, President of the Brazilian Society of Aerospace Medicine and was a member of the IATA Medical Advisory Group from 2002 to 2006.
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