Terrorism not major cause of concern among flyers
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
Terrorism is only the fourth most worrying aspect of air travel, affecting just 23.7% of flyers. This is just one of the major findings of the ‘2011 Travel Daily Aviation Safety Survey’, which polled the global travel trade about their views on aviation safety. It is encouraging that, in the month of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, professionals within the travel industry are largely unconcerned by terrorist threats. When asked which factors make them feel unsafe when travelling by air, the majority 54.2% cited technical safety, followed by 42.4% who were concerned by turbulence or adverse weather conditions. A further 33.9% are worried by pilot/crew proficiency, and just 23.7% by terrorism.
These findings perhaps show how the tightening of airport security measures since 9/11 has helped to reassure flyers. When asked their opinion of current airport security measures, exactly half said they believed them to be ‘about right’. More than a third however, still believes that airport security is ‘too stringent’ (28.3%) or ‘much too stringent’ (8.3%). Only 13.3% thought that security at airports is ‘too lax’.
Continuing the theme of airport security, it is interesting to note that 48.3% of respondents were in favour of full-body scanners, while 46.7% support biometric data collection. Interestingly, 20.0% believe that racial profiling of passengers should be adopted. The most preferred method of airport security however, is behavioural profiling, which was selected by 56.7% of respondents.
Overall, the majority (88.4%) of respondents said they feel ‘safe’ or ‘very safe’ when travelling by air, and almost the same number (88.3%) have never cancelled or postponed a flight due to safety concerns. The respondents’ peace of mind was affected however, by the airline they were flying with. More than three quarters (76.3%) said they would definitely reconsider using an airline if it had a poor safety record. A further 23.8% said they may consider such an airline depending on price or flight times, while 5.1% said they said no concerns of this nature.
Unsurprisingly, the major full-service carriers were selected among the most trusted airlines, with Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, British Airways, Qantas and Emirates taking the top five positions. Despite the fact that many of its airlines have recently come off the EU aviation blacklist, Indonesia clearly still has some way to go if it is to gain the trust of flyers. Indonesian carriers accounted for more than a fifth (21.3%) of airlines respondents felt least safe flying with. Low-cost carriers were cited by 11.5% of respondents.
The Travel Daily Aviation Safety Survey was an online poll conducted throughout the month of August 2011, and gathered the views of 244 travel trade personnel from across the world. The largest share of responses came from Southeast Asia (34.4%), followed by Europe (24.6%), the Middle East (13.1%) and Australia/NZ (9.8%). Most respondents were experienced flyers, travelling by air more than 10 times per year (36.7%).
Comments are closed.