Dubai: The mysterious disappearance of a Malaysian Airlines plane on March 8 and the crash of an AirAsia plane on December 28 meant that the year gone by was turbulent for both the airline industry and frequent air travellers. These and other incidents in the aviation sector, particularly in South East Asia, have naturally raised concerns about safety and people’s attitude to air travel.
Gulf News asked residents what they thought about passenger safety and if their confidence in the airline industry has been dented.
Omar Al Abd, a 25-year-old computer engineer, is not overly perturbed by the incidents as he believes in fate. “The aviation industry is not a science — a lot of uncertainty still exists,” he said.
Al Abd, however, is particular about the airline he chooses and considers their pilot hiring criteria and monitoring procedures.
Idris Khan from India, a frequent flyer, travelled six to eight times every month last year. He said the air tragedies have not dented his confidence. “These plane crashes are infrequent and do not really pose any greater risk to flying than in the past. I am quite content with air travel,” he said.
Travelling on both short and long haul flights, Khan said his trips include visits to many Gulf countries for business and personal travel to the US, Europe and India.
The Dubai resident, however, tries to avoid smaller airlines as he believes that bigger airlines have bigger budgets for regular maintenance of planes and have the right personnel to monitor them. While a reputed airline is his preferable choice, Khan pointed out that any mode of transport involves risk.
“In fact, other means of transport cause more fatalities than air travel so we do not need to panic or stop travelling by air,” he said.
Khan said that airline regulators must set high standards in terms of safety requirements in order to avoid avoidable scenarios such as technical or human errors.
Ali G. from Lebanon said it is not unusual for some planes to crash.
“Plane accidents happened before too, but they are less now. I think airlines are doing their best, but there is always a probability that something can go wrong,” he said.
Ali pointed out that the class of airline is not the problem as even budget airlines hire skilled pilots. “If the pilot is not well-rested, it could cause trouble, just like with any job,” he added.
The Dubai resident said that as a precaution, he will now try to avoid travelling during winter because of the possibility of bad weather.
Looking at the issue from a statistical point of view, Dubai resident Yasir Al Nimr, 26, an account manager at an IT firm, said the few recent accidents are insignificant. “The two recent accidents happened in South East Asia, so maybe I will be careful when choosing an airline to destinations in the region,” he said
Basma Sameh from Egypt, a 22-year-old a specialist researcher, said that her attitude towards flying has not changed. However, her only concern is travelling to the Far East. “I would not choose to go there since most of the accidents happened in that region. I am not really concerned about the pilot, but who is on the plane,” she said.
Ahmad Tariq Al Sayed, a 23-year-old Dubai resident, said that worrying about the skills of the pilot would not stop him from travelling. “Once you buy your ticket, you just go, but it is definitely a relief once the plane touches down at your destination,” he said.
Nervana Hisham, a 24-year-old Dubai resident, said the recent air tragedies will not stop her from travelling. However, she is wary about travelling on some Asian airlines. To avoid worrying when flying, Nervana uses a simple method. “When I worry, I just pray and I feel better,” she said.
Using a reputed airline to travel is also Dubai resident A.N’s main concern. The Lebanese national said even with the recent accidents, flying is still the safest means of travel.
“I always travel on a reputed airline that I can trust, and that has strict standards for their crew and planes.”
