A Study on Airline Cabin Crew Safety Training Programs and Managers

The term "cabin crew" means those who board an aircraft and perform duties for the safety of passengers, such as emergency aircraft evacuation (IATA, 2006). In any case, since the damage from an aircraft accident is likely to be very serious, safety in air transport needs to be given special emphasis (Kim, 2020). Due to various accidents that have occurred recently, safety issues have become a national concern. Based on experiences in various accident cases, problems and improvement plans of the current safety system as well as the importance of safety education and training are presented in various ways (Seo, 2016). All airlines around the world conduct regular aviation safety training every year for their cabin crew in accordance with the regulations set by ICAO, and through this training, they are developing their ability to cope with aircraft accidents (Guldenmund, 2010). ICAO Doc. 9868 also recommends developing a training program based on the competence of airline cabin crew (Kim et al., 2022).

Completion of cabin crew safety education or training is not a simple education or training procedure, but a prerequisite for maintaining qualifications as a cabin crew member. The airlines emphasizes the importance of safety education and strives to nurture competent cabin crews who can faithfully manage safety issues through the development of effective education or training programs and the relevant training managers (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, 2018).

Safety education managers, who play the most important role in airline cabin related to safety issues, must have a good understanding for not only the contents of education but also the influence of education to human behavior, and must continuously conduct high-quality safety education or training programs. In this study, the importance of cabin safety education or training for airlines was reconfirmed once again, the establishment of specific qualification for key personnel who develop and implement cabin crew safety programs and the establishment of a system for continuous improvement of training programs were reviewed.

Each airline should appoint a safety training manager for cabin crews, and the appointment must be approved by the supervisory authority. Cabin crew safety training managers must have sufficient knowledge and understanding for their duty and responsibility relating to their job. In addition, cabin crew safety managers must be appointed through a strict verification process in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. The following advice can be considered:

(1) In order to be a good cabin crew safety training managers, safety basic experience and knowledge as a cabin crew is necessary. Experience and knowledge for cabin crew safety education and training is also necessary. In addition, familiarization with the relevant procedures and regulations of the airline is required.

(2) Cabin crew safety training managers should check in advance whether the current cabin crew safety training program and related equipments and facilities are built in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. In addition, they should have an experience to attribute to the development and announcement of emergency safety program to ensure safety of aircraft. They also have to check that appropriate safety instructions are provided to cabin crews. In addition, they must be aware of the delegated responsibilities assigned by the management of airline.

(3) Finally, cabin crew safety training managers should be able to conduct a cabin crew education in accordance with an education program approved by the airline in advance, and should keep training records. In addition, It also needs for cabin crew safety training managers to coordinate with other departments and stay in touch with regulatory authorities to share information to achieve safety goals for airline cabins. In addition, other qualified personnel should be secured in case of absence, and responsibilities should be delegated. Considering these issues, cabin crew safety training managers will have to make an constant efforts for and pay attention to proper management and communication (ICAO, 2014; Steven et al., 2008).

According to relevant laws and regulations, airlines must assign appropriately qualified personnel to cabin crew instructor’s and examiner’s position so that they can perform their respective roles well. Since there is a significant gap between the competency required to perform the duties of an instructor and the competency required to perform the duties of an examiner, more attention must be paid to securing fairness when an instructor substitutes the role of an examiner.

Relevant candidates who wish to become cabin crew instructors must first be qualified as cabin crew and prove that they have the qualifications as instructors. Instructors who have been granted relevant qualifications through a reasonable verification process should be assigned roles related to their duties as instructors.

More specifically, before assigning relevant tasks to an instructor, the airline must proceed with the instructor selection process by evaluating whether the instructor has relevant knowledge, ability, and experience. In the selection process, the instructor's teaching ability must also be verified.

Meanwhile, the instructor training program should be implemented with items such as safety management during training, preparation and inspection of the educational environment, management and support of trainees, execution of training, and evaluation of trainees. In addition, all candidates for instructor must pass all evaluations for practical training items before receiving instructor qualifications. Even after becoming instructors, they must undergo regular maintenance training and be re-evaluated by the airline or other training organizations (Chenet et al., 2021).

Candidates who wish to become cabin crew examiners must have the relevant qualifications. Appropriately qualified examiners can judge achievements in conducting safety training. Examiners must conduct reviews on the subject of assessment within a proficiency-based training environment approved by the relevant authority.

Prior to being granted examiner qualifications, all candidates must successfully complete a formal proficiency assessment during the conduct of practical training. Even after becoming examiners, they must undergo regular maintenance training and be re-evaluated by the airline or other training organizations (Liouet al., 2008; Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, 2018).

The training program developer is responsible for ensuring that the cabin crew training program meets all applicable regulatory requirements. When developing a training program, the following factors should be considered: defining training goals, designing practical assessments, designing training modules, determining training strategies, selecting training media, producing proficiency-based teaching and assessment materials, and developing training and assessment materials, test, safety audit, trainee feedback, airline's voluntary reporting system, etc.

Proficiency-based training should aim at acquiring both knowledge and skills, and should include a variety of training methods such as learning, practice, and simulated training. In addition, airlines must balance learning and training to ensure fair training.

Trainers should take into account the trainee's age, culture and language skills, and should utilize a variety of means, as follows: All remote training should include technical support, and learning technologies should be developed to facilitate communication between educators and learners. When conducting computer-based remote training, a learning management system that records learning outcomes and confirms that learning has been effective must be provided, and practice and mock training using simulated training devices must also be conducted (ICAO, 2018).

Examiners should strive to secure the reliability of evaluation. The evaluation made by one examiner and the evaluation given by other examiners for the performance of the same task at different times must be consistent, and the process of reconfirming the adequacy of the evaluation must be accompanied. If the evaluation method is a multi-choice type question, all kinds of training for the examiner is required to secure reliability. If the examiner has to judge differently from the standard, more reliability training is needed (Zoharet, 2000).

For continuous improvement of the training program, the airline must constantly evaluate training instructors and training materials. Instructors must evaluate the process by utilizing trainees' feedback and performance results, and must also conduct regular evaluations on the effectiveness of the training system. In addition, for continuous improvement of the program, each instructor should periodically review the contents of the training and check the proficiency and performance of the trainees. Each instructor also must separately evaluate his or her effectiveness and always pursue personal development.

When evaluating training, evaluation should be conducted including the validity of proficiency-based training data and results, achievement of performance evaluation aviation goals, achievement of institution.

Finally, airlines must manage the adequacy of instructors and examiners by inspecting their training records, work records, training-related classes, tests, observation flight documents, checks performed by examiners, licenses and certificates, etc. Airlines must have and maintain an effective system for managing and controlling these training records, and must ensure that the contents and records relating to the training comply with relevant laws and regulations (Seo, 2016; ICAO, 2015).