Safety management system and safety culture in aviation, an application on airline operations

This research aims to measure the perception levels of flight crew members towards the safety culture of airline companies operating in Turkey. Additionally, it was tried to understand whether there were differences according to the demographic characteristics of the participants. In the study, the "Safety Culture Measurement Survey in Aviation", prepared by the International Civil Aviation Organization with the contributions of authorities such as AAPA, AACO and ACI, was used to determine the level of safety culture. A total of 514 people working in airline companies participated in the research online and face to face. The data were analyzed via SPSS and findings that could be considered important in terms of the literature were obtained. Some of the results obtained in the research are as follows. When looking at the differences between companies regarding the general evaluation perception of safety culture, it was concluded that the safety culture perception level of Z airline is higher on average than other companies. As a result of the difference tests conducted in the context of demographic characteristics in the research, it was understood that female employees had a higher perception of safety policy than men. As a result of the analysis made in terms of dimensions according to the working year, it was understood that the perceptions of safety communication and safety training of those who have worked for 21 years or more are higher than those who work for 0-5 years and 11-15 years. When the findings obtained in the study are evaluated, it is understood that there are differences between airline companies. As a result of the analyzes made on the demographic characteristics of the participants and the dimensions, it was determined that there were differences. Other findings obtained in the research were included in detail in the results section, interpreted and some suggestions were made.