Analysis of Health and Safety Regulations in UK Aviation

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HEALTH, SAFETY, AND
SECURITY IN AVIATION AT
AIRPORT
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................3
RELATED INCIDENTS, THREATS, AND FACTORS
AFFECTING HEALTH AND SECURITY IN AVIATION......3
LEGISLATION AND AUTHORITIES TO PREVENT
AVIATION ACCIDENTS..........................................................4
CONCLUSION............................................................................6
REFERENCES............................................................................7
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INTRODUCTION
The Aviation industry is the fastest growing industry and it hugely contributes to the overall
economic development of a country. It has introduced several employment opportunities as well
as it has made it convenient to travel and carry goods from one place to another. In today's times,
tourists and travelers are very much concerned about their health and safety. They have to travel
from one place to another without any fear of death and being assured that their health I
important and safety is ensured. The health, safety, and security in the aviation industry are very
necessary so that risks of accidents and damage of persons and property are reduced and high-
quality services are provided to the tourists and travelers (O’Connor et al, 2017). Aviation
security is a process that includes several activities and theories to be studied regarding flight
failures and prevention of such failures through regulation, education, and training.
The term ‘safety' refers to being in a state free from any danger, risk or threat, which may be
caused by an accident resulting in loss of a person or property. In other words, it is the condition
of being safe. In aviation, aviation safety means those acts and efforts which are taken care of to
ensure that the airplane is safe from such factors or hazards, which may lead to injury or loss of
any person or property (Quddus, 2016). The term ‘health’ refers to a physical or mental
condition of a person where he is free from any type of illness or injury (Powell-Dunford et al,
2017). It is the balance between the human body and its environment. The term ‘security’ refers
to the state of being safe from any hazard, threat or injury that could lead to loss of person or
property (Ortmeier, 2017). In other words, security is one of the efforts taken in order to ensure
safety.
RELATED INCIDENTS, THREATS, AND FACTORS AFFECTING HEALTH AND
SECURITY IN AVIATION
As an airport manager, safety and security of passengers as well as of our staff is very important
for us. The Aviation industry is completely dependent on the safety and security offered by an
aviation company to its passengers and its staff (Panagopoulos et al, 2016). It is very important
for an aviation company to ensure the safety and security of its staff and passengers from those
factors which are hazardous to them during their travel. The factors or hazards of aviation safety
and security are:
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Safety hazards such as lightning, bird strikes, fire, foreign object debris (FOD), or wind shear or
microbursts are the causes of aviation accidents. In 1963, Pan Am Flight 214 was crashed due to
positive lightning. Bird strikes are those situations where a bird and a place collide with each
other and damaging the cockpit or causing failure of the engine of a plane. The planes are at
higher risks of bird strike when it flying at low altitude or while taking off or while landing in the
vicinity of the airports (Mckee et al, 2016) . FOD refers to leave such objects in the structure of
aircraft while cleaning or maintenance or repairs of the aircraft.
Health hazards such as Ice and snow are also major factors resulting in aviation accidents. A
child was killed on the ground when Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 slid off the runway after
landing in heavy snowfall conditions (Quinn, 2017). Also, pilot fatigue could be one of the
reasons leading to aviation failures and accidents.
Security hazards include such factors that cause aviation accidents due to negligence or error
regarding the security of the airplane. It includes factors like a human error where people from
maintenance engineers to pilot commits such mistakes or omit to commit such necessary acts
whose negligence would lead to aviation failures and accidents (Martinussen and Hunter, 2017).
For example, if a pilot has given or received a piece of wrong information would be prone to lose
control of the aircraft.
LEGISLATION AND AUTHORITIES TO PREVENT AVIATION ACCIDENTS
The health, safety, and security of passengers and aviation staff are something, which cannot be
compromised. Each and every employer must ensure that the security or the aircraft and checked
and all the safety measures are taken (Cooper, 2015). For the same purpose, the government of
UK has enacted several laws and established several authorities to prevent aviation accidents
while in the air or at the airport and providing high-quality services to the passengers and
protecting health and safety of the workers as well as of the passengers. The different aviation
legislation and regulating bodies are:
The Health And Safety At Work Act (HASAWA), 1974 – The Health and Safety At Work Act
(HASAWA) was introduced by the Parliament of the UK in 1974. The act was enforced for the
purpose of encouraging health, safety, and security at the workplace to promote the welfare of
the employees at work (Arewa et al, 2018). It compels all employers to provide health and safe
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working conditions to his employees and check out for any risks involved in the workplace and
to prevent them if any. This will not only improve the performances of employees but also it will
ensure that employees provide high-quality services to the passengers while at the airport or
traveling in flight.
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR),
2013 – The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR),
is a statutory instrument of the Parliament of the UK which was enacted for the purpose of
reporting of such incidents that might lead or already has resulted to death, injuries, diseases or
any other dangerous occurrences at the workplace (Antunes et al, 2016). Such incidents might
take place whether at the airport or during travel as well. The report could be submitted by a
responsible person whether it’s a manager or an employee or a passenger. It is required to
identify several underlying causes and prevention of such accidents or dangerous occurrences
and to frame such policies to prevent any failure in management systems. This report would help
the other local authorities to take suitable measures to prevent such type of incidents in the
future.
The Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, 2002 – The Control of
Substances Hazardous to Health Regulation, 2002 was enacted for the purpose of protection of
employees from any type of exposure to such substances which may be hazardous and would
adversely affect the health and safety of employees (Boyle, 2015). It is the primary responsibility
of the employer to protect his employees from such hazards. These regulations also prohibit
carrying of any hazardous substances either at the airport or in flight. Such substances are
required either to be removed or replaced by safer and secure substances.
The Manual Handling and Operations Regulations (MHOR), 1992 – There are several cases
of work-related disorders such as musculoskeletal disorders (MSD's), faced by the employees
every year due to poor handling of baggage and luggage. It results in pain or any damage to the
upper and lower limbs of a person (Murphy and Efthymiou, 2017). To avoid such disorders, the
Manual Handling and Operation Regulation was enacted in 1992, providing measures regarding
the activities of manual handling. It provides that provisions to avoid any manual handling of
hazardous material and also for the implementation of new techniques which would help the
employees while manual handling of luggage and baggage of the passengers while boarding in
flight or while their departure.
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Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) – The Civil Aviation Authority in the UK is an independent
body which is responsible for regulating and framing such policies and rules which are needed to
be followed by every employer in the aviation industry in ensuring occupational health, safety
and security of the passengers while on the ground and in the air (Cunliffe et al, 2017). The Civil
Aviation Authority is also responsible for conducting research regarding aviation issues and its
prevention and also about protecting passenger’s interests and ensuring their safety. The Civil
Aviation Authority is vested with the power of issuing licenses to pilots; to manage security
standards and to ensure the security of the passengers by overseeing such national protection
schemes for them. It is the duty of the Civil Aviation Authority to provide effective care and
services to the passengers and to safeguard the health and security of the passengers on board as
well as of the aircrew (Papatheodorou, 2016).
The Health and Safety Executive - The Health and Safety Executive is an agency of UK
established for the purpose of health, safety and security of the employees at their workplace as
well as passengers at the airport and in flight. The Health and Security Executive is responsible
for providing such regulations and policies, imposing liabilities on employers to provide healthy
and safer working condition s to the employees and it also includes provisions to provide
adequate and quality training to the staff (Kearns and Schermer, 2017). This will not only
enhance their services but also develop the ability to manage any unforeseen circumstances
while at the airport or in the air. The reports of RIDDOR also guide HSE to regulate and
implement such policies as to deal and prevent any dangerous occurrences which might affect
the health and safety of the passengers as well as of the employees. The Health and Safety
Executive also provides a restriction on the carriage of weight while checking in at the airport. It
specifies the responsibilities of the staff to check for the weight at the check-in stage.
Reports of the year 2017-18 have shown that around 1.4 million people are suffering from work-
related illness in the aviation industry and 71.602 injuries to the employees are reported in
RIDDOR (HSE, 2018). To avoid any rise in these numbers, the HSE has implemented several
plans and policies and also provided the aviation authorities subordinate to HSE to make such
regulatory framework as to avoid such incidents which are harmful to both the employees as well
as passengers. In order to implement these development plans, proper training to staff and
motivating and encouraging them to be careful while dealing with customer’s health and safety
would go a long way (Halt and Allen, 2015).
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CONCLUSION
To conclude, it may be said that safety and aviation are the two sides of the same coin. They are
needed to be managed together. They both complete each other. As an airport manager, we
ensure that whenever, people board or check-in at airport or in flights, safety and security of each
and every passenger must be ensured. Although several legislations have been enacted and
several legislative and regulatory bodies have been established, it the duty of the passengers also
to abide by the rules and regulations stated by aviation companies and by the airport. HSE plays
a very crucial role in the regulation and control of aviation accident by ensuring safety and
security of the passengers as well as of the aircrew. These safety and security measures are
provided to ensure that high-quality aviation services are provided to the passengers by the
employees and developing the skills of managing the situations of any dangerous occurrences or
hazards effectively and efficiently.
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REFERENCES
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15. Murphy, G. and Efthymiou, M., 2017. Aviation safety regulation in the multi-stakeholder
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