What is crew resource management (CRM) and how does it work?

A management system which makes optimum use of all available resources (equipment, procedures and people) to promote safety and enhance the efficiency of flight operationUK Civil Aviation Authority

How did it come about? A brief history

On December 29, 1972, an Eastern Airlines Lockheed L-1011 with 176 people aboard crashed in Florida just minutes away from touching down in Miami International airport. Extensive investigation reports attributed the cause of the accident to distraction and mayhem in the cockpit. The flight crew were apparently focused on an un-illuminated landing gear indication bulb, distracting them from the rapid descent the aircraft was subjected to-leading to the crash. As a response, British aviation psychiatrist and professor, Elwyn Edwards, developed the first ever " Cockpit resource management".

The NASA built upon Dr. Edward's principles and concluded that primary causes of aircraft accidents were human errors resulting from improper interpersonal communications and lack of decision making skills. Thereby, it became imperative that everyone involved be trained in effective management of resources and interpersonal communication to complete every flying task safely.

When is CRM used?

AOPA

Right from the moment when the crew meet in the briefing room all the way until they checkout for the day-day-CRM is applied. Accurate environmental perception and situational awareness are key to effective CRM.CRM can be thought of as a combination of:

1.Communication2.Problem solving3.Situational awareness4.Decision-making5.Teamwork

Situational Awareness

One’s ability to accurately perceive what is in the flight deck and outside the aircraft, comprehend the meaning of these elements and be able to project their possible status in the near future-UK CAA

SKYbrary

Often times it is possible that the crew might believe they have a clear perception of the current situation while in fact, they might not. For instance, believing they are correctly lined up with the runway for landing while in fact they actually might be configured with the parallel taxiway. Hence there is a continuous need to keep questioning whether your perceived reality is actually correct or not. It is to be realised that pilots are humans too and are prone to making errors. This is called situational awareness. While it can take a long time to build up this habit, it will only take seconds to lose it.

Fatigue awareness and workload have also found way into CRM over the recent years. At times, the cockpit could get busy, communicating back n forth with the ATC. It is very easy to get distracted in such scenarios and hence effective CRM ensures the pilots are attentive at all time.

Summing up

Long story short, CRM is two or more people working together as one. This isn't limited to pilots alone as everyone involved in the safety of the flight, including the ATC, are part as well.With increasing reliance on automation, effective CRM has become all the more important as, contrary to the popular belief, automation actually requires more vigilance than otherwise.

Sterile Cockpit Rule

BLOG-SMITH SYSTEM

Imposed by the FAA in 1981 following a string of aviation accidents, the sterile cockpit rule stipulates that during critical phases of a flight and all other flight operations conducted below 10,000ft MSL, all unnecessary talk and commotion is to be avoided in the cockpit.

Air India bids adieu to "Sir" in the cockpit

DNA India

In a bid to improve CRM in the cockpit, Air India express has asked its first officers now to adress the PIC(pilot I'm command) as "Captain" or by their first name and not address them as "sir".

The circular issued regarding the same refered to an Air India Express incident at Trichy in October 2018 where the aircraft hit the lower portion of a ground-based navigation aid before finally taking off for the destination. Apparently, the cause of the mishap was attributed to poor CRM in the cockpit, essentially communication failure between the two pilots. According to regulatory bodies, the proposed move will bring about a more informal environment in the cockpit and reduce trans-cockpit-authority-gradient.

Hyderabad-based GMR Group is investing INR 20,000 crore to expand existing airports and develop new aerodromes, Chairman GM Rao said in the company’s latest annual report.

“Airport Development and Construction: GMR Group has set benchmarks for the development of world-class airport infrastructure. The company is currently investing approximately INR 20,000 crore to expand the existing airports and develop new airports,” he mentioned.

The infra major’s airport business comprises four operating airports including Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad, Bidar Airport, Karnataka and Mactan Cebu International Airport in the Philippines.

GMR Group is investing INR 20,000 crore to expand existing airports and develop new aerodromes

In addition, GMR Group has commissioned Mopa Greenfield Airports in Goa and Crete International Airport in Greece, which is currently under construction. The company had also signed the concession agreement for a Greenfield Bhogapuram International Airport in Andhra Pradesh in June 2020. Development works including earthworks for the project are in progress.

Currently, GMR’s Delhi Airport is expanding its airside infrastructure and terminal capacity to 100 million passengers annually. The entire Phase 3A expansion is set to be completed by June 2023, Rao mentioned.

Delhi Airport has also raised $450 million in the form of overseas green bonds to meet the funding needs of the expansion project and to repay the $289 million bond maturing in FY21-22.

GMR’s Delhi Airport is expanding its airside infrastructure and terminal capacity to 100 million passengers

Further, as part of its capital expansion works, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) has commissioned four rapid exit taxiways, and has completed rehabilitation works of the main runway in the first quarter of the current fiscal.

"GHIAL is well underway to complete its expansion to a capacity of 35 million passengers annually by September 2022," Rao said. GHIAL raised 5-year bonds amounting to $300 million in the previous fiscal to meet the funding requirements of the expansion project.

In February 2020, Goa Airport resumed construction and development works on the site after the Supreme Court gave its reaffirmation of environmental clearance to the project. The airport is expected to be commissioned by August 2022.

Separately, after the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court ruling, GMR said it is would develop Nagpur airport into a “world-class facility”. The court had recently set aside an order of Mihan-- a joint venture of Maharashtra Airport Development Company and Airport Authority of India. Mihan, in March 2020, had cancelled the award letter issued to the GMR group, but the high court has asked it to execute a concession agreement with the GMR group in six weeks. 

The existing facilities at Nagpur airport have been operating close to the maximum capacity, handling a total of about 3 million passengers and 9,500 metric tonnes of cargo during the financial year 2019-20.

SpiceJet on August 19 said it will conduct the trial of the IATA Travel Pass mobile application that allows travellers to store and manage their verified certificates regarding COVID-19 tests or vaccines.

"The trial will be conducted on flights out of Mumbai to Male effective August 23, 2021," the airline said in a statement. IATA Travel Pass offers a secure and efficient alternative to current paper processes used to manage health requirements in the wake of enormous testing and vaccine verifications, the budget carrier stated.

After IndiGo, SpiceJet has announced the trial of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) travel pass mobile app, a digital passport of sorts for health verification.

The app manages and verifies the traveller's COVID-19 status in line with the governments' health and border requirements, SpiceJet noted. The mobile app has been built by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which is a global airlines body that has around 290 airlines as its members.

The statement said SpiceHealth has been onboarded by IATA as a lab partner for the Travel Pass trial. SpiceHealth is a healthcare company founded by SpiceJet's promoters Ajay Singh and Avani Singh.

SpiceHealth is a healthcare company founded by SpiceJet's promoters Ajay Singh and Avani Singh.

IATA has confirmed SpiceHealth as a lab partner for the Travel Pass trial, which is a healthcare company founded by promoters of SpiceJet. SpiceHealth currently operates 21 labs and collection centres for RT-PCR and rapid antigen testing spread across eleven cities in India.

“Passenger safety and comfort has always been our top priority and the introduction of the Travel Pass will make the verification process absolutely simple and hassle-free, boost both passenger and government confidence and make international travel more efficient and secure.”Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet

SpiceJet had earlier introduced a COVID insurance cover including tests, medication and consultations upon testing positive for COVID-19. With the Travel Pass, the airline will provide accurate information to passengers on test requirements and verify if a passenger meets the requirements for travel.

“Adding SpiceJet to the growing list of airlines trialling IATA Travel Pass is another step towards demonstrating to governments how digital solutions can effectively manage both COVID-19 vaccine and test certificates for travel. IATA Travel Pass will simplify and enhance compliance with health requirements for SpiceJet’s passengers, facilitating a more seamless experience.”Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety and Security.

More than 45 airlines across the world, including Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Etihad have partnered with IATA for carrying out a pilot for the travel pass.

IndiGo's travel pass is already under process

Earlier in August, IndiGo announced that it had partnered with IATA to become the first Indian airline to launch a pilot for IATA Travel Pass.

"It is more secure and efficient than current paper processes used to manage health requirements. This is important given the potentially enormous scale of testing or vaccine verifications that will need to be securely managed."IndiGo

The pass will enable IndiGo passengers to create a ‘digital passport’ to verify their pre-travel test or vaccination status to meet the SOPs of the destination, it said adding that passengers will be able to share the test and vaccination certificates with authorities as well as airlines to facilitate travel.

The pass will enable IndiGo passengers to create a ‘digital passport’ to verify their pre-travel test or vaccination status to meet the SOPs of the destination

Meanwhile, IATA on August 19 announced that the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has accepted IATA Travel Pass to confirm pre-departure Covid-19 test results for departing and arriving passengers starting 30 September. Eventually, this acceptance will be expanded to vaccine certification, said IATA.

Frankly speaking, there is no one-size-fits-all scheme that can be said about fleet repainting. It all depends on how ambitious the airline is about repainting the entire fleet in a brand new livery. There are so many variables involved in this entire process- no of aircrafts, their size, which company would be undertaking the repainting, the maintenance schedule of the fleet etc. This is just to name a few.

At times, it also boils down to whether it is simply a "re-branding" of the former livery or maybe a merging with a new airline altogether or even possibly both. Either way, ultimately it all comes down to the financial factor as obviously, the planes will have to be grounded and put out of service for an indefinite period of time, which could burn a hole in the company's pockets.

Go-Air rebrands itself as Go-First

With the official re-branding of Go-Air to Go-first, adopting a ULCC model,  Go Air had announced the rebranding via a front-page advertisement in The Times of India. The ad floated is as follows.

GoAir is now GoFirst

Ironically none of the aircrafts in the fleet have been spotted with the new logo, yet, and it remains to be seen if the company decides to continue with the old logo or perhaps go with the new one. It is to be kept in mind that repainting means the entire fleet would have to be grounded and that would only add to further economical woes for the company, now that it's operating as an ULCC. Even if it does plan to go with the new one, it will take a lot of time before we see any of the company aircrafts with the re-branded logo.

Why is it important?

An airline's livery acts as its brand ambassador wherever it flies-which means free advertising. The paint job also acts as a protective layer acting as the first layer of defense against physical elements. Thereby, it becomes very important to get this job done right and in a timely manner.

Additionally, it also has a significant impact on the overall weight of the aircraft. According to FlightRadar24, a single layer of paint on an A380 weights between 600-1000 kgs. Now that's massive.

It's a general practise for airlines to adopt  a white paintjob as this reflects most of the suns' radiation. Overtime, this paintjob wears off and has to be re-painted again.

Methodology

Mask and seal: All the sensitive probes and sensors are safely closed. This includes the windows as well, thereby making sure the entire aircraft is safely sealed up. This process takes about 2-3 days.Sand the aircraft: The plane has to be stripped off its existing layer of paint for which the fuselage is stripped of the airplane. This is done using a peroxide-based stripper which basically ensures the entire paint job just falls off. The wings get a "scuff sand"- The entire process takes about 24 hours while sanding can go up to 3-5 days.

Wash and decontaminate: Water is run through the fuselage and the wings to rid the aircraft of any residual impurities and this could take anywhere from 24-36 hours. Post washing, experts conduct a "water break" test to fully ensure there are no decontaminants left.Prime and paint: The primer is now poured all through the fuselage, over the wings, and the tail and allowed to sit for 3-5 hours.Once the primer is set, the painting can be commenced which is in itself a highly intricate process. The painting company takes care of the process as accelerators are added to the paint to Fastrack the drying process.

Aeroreport.de

lacing all technical markings: Now that the painting is done, all the technical markings and devices that were pulled out initially have to be replaced in the exact same order, as mandated by FAA. A thorough inspection is done to make sure there are no deviations from actual markings.Application of final clear coat: Applying this final layer of clear coat can take up to 16 hours and it is made sure that all pre-existing blemishes are dealt with prior to this. Once this is done, it takes about 48 hours to dry before the aircraft can fly again.

How long do you think will Go-Air take to refurbish and paint the new logo ?Comment in the section below...

Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri. Jyotiraditya M. Scindia and MoS, Civil Aviation, General (Dr.) VK Singh (Retd.) along with Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Shri Pradeep Kharola, virtually flagged off the IndiGo flight for Jabalpur – Delhi sector on August 20. Chief Minister, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan graced the event virtually as the Guest of Honor. Other dignitaries including, Shri. Tulsiram Silavat Minister of Water Resources, Fisheries Welfare and Fisheries Development, Government of Madhya Pradesh and Smt. Usha Thakur, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Adyatam, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Rakesh Singh, Member of Parliament, Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shankar Lalwani, Member of Parliament, Madhya Pradesh along with other important stakeholders also joined the event virtually from Madhya Pradesh. 

PTI

Shri Jyotiraditya scindia further added, “Today, we are not only starting new routes and new flights from Jabalpur, but we have also approved an INR 421 crore scheme for the development of Jabalpur airport. The new developments include construction of a new 10,000 sq ft terminal building, a new ATC tower, and extension of runway from 1950m to 2750 m to make it feasible for bigger aircraft operations.”

Identified as the cultural capital of Madhya Pradesh, Jabalpur is the divisional headquarters for eight districts: Jabalpur, Seoni, Mandla, Chhindwara, Narsinghpur, Katni, Dindori and Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh. It is one of the most valuable as well as developed cities of the state. Hanumantal Bada Jain Mandir, Jabalpur Madan Mahal, Dhuandhar Falls, Chausta -Yogini, Marble Rocks in Bhedaghat, Balancing rock near Madan Mahal Fort, Shiv Statue at Kachnar City, tiger reserves like Kanha National Park, Bandhavgarh National Park, and Pench National Park invite visitors from all over the world. The city features rich history & also offers a sneak-peek into India’s heritage.

Jabalpur is the 69th domestic destination connected by M/s IndiGo airlines under RCS-UDAN.

Jabalpur is the 69th domestic destination connected by M/s IndiGo airlines. These direct connections are aimed to enhance trade and commerce while also boost tourism in Jabalpur, especially at this time when Indians are increasingly looking towards domestic vacations and unexplored gems in the country.

The flight schedule is mentioned below:

FROMTOFREQUENCYDEPARTURE TIMEEFFECTIVE FROMDELJLRDaily9:0020-AUG-21JLRDELDaily10:5020-AUG-21BOMJLRDaily6:2520-AUG-21JLRBOMDaily8:4520-AUG-21IDRJLRDaily7:4528-AUG-21JLRHYDDaily9:4028-AUG-21HYDJLRDaily12:3028-AUG-21JLRIDRDaily15:0528-AUG-21

IndiGo is a low-cost carrier based in Gurgaon, India that commenced operations in Aug-2006. The carrier, which is owned by Rahul Bhatia’s InterGlobe Enterprises, operates an extensive domestic network and international services to South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe and the Gulf.

Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri. Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, MoS, Civil Aviation, General Dr. V K Singh (Retd.) along with Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Shri Pradeep Kharola virtually flagged off the Spicejet’s first direct flight for Bhavnagar (Gujarat) - Delhi sector on August 20. Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri. Vijay Rupani virtually embellished the event as the Chief Guest.

Jyotiradity Scindia with SpiceJet's CEO Ajay Singh

Several other dignitaries including Shri Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, Minister, (Cabinet) Civil Aviation, Gujarat, Dr. Bharatiben Dhirubhai Shiyal Member of Parliament, Bhavnagar & National Vice President, Bharatiya Janata Party, Smt. Vibhavariben Vijaybhai Dave, Member of Legislative Assembly (East) Bhavnagar & Minister Women and Child Welfare Education and Pilgrimage, Shri Parsottambhai Odhavjibhai Solanki, Member of Legislative Assembly (Rural) Bhavnagar & Minister-Fisheries, and Shri. Jitendrabhai Savjibhai Vaghani Member of Legislative Assembly (West) Bhavnagar joined the inauguration virtually from Bhavnagar. Smt.  Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation along with other senior officials of MoCA & AAI were also present during the ceremony held at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, New Delhi.

https://twitter.com/JM_Scindia/status/1428738966296023046

Tweet by Jotiraditya Scindia

“I feel honoured to flag off the first direct flight operations on the heritage city of Bhavnagar to Delhi route. The city has played a vital role in the economic activities of entire Gujarat since ancient times. The city is an important centre for the diamond cutting, polishing, and shipbreaking industry not only for India but for the entire world. Bhavnagar is the prominent city of India where a blend of the symbolic initiatives of ‘Vocal for Local’ & ‘Local to Global’ started by our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, is found. Furthermore, the Vehicle Scrappage Policy will also benefit the people of Bhavnagar. Apart from economic activities, the city has its own rich cultural and historical significance. These new flights will act as a catalyst for the tourism sector of the region while aiding the trade and commerce sector of Bhavnagar.”Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation

Bhavnagar will now get six new flight routes. Due to the non-connectivity of direct flights from Bhavnagar to Delhi & Bhavnagar to Surat, people had to travel to Ahmedabad to board a flight, now, they can travel at ease by opting for the newly inaugurated direct flight services on these sectors. Flights from Bhavnagar to Delhi and Mumbai will be operational on all days except on Tuesdays and Saturdays, flights from Bhavnagar to Surat will operate on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays starting from August 21, 2021.

The flight schedule is mentioned below:

 SECTOR DEPARTURE FREQUENCY Bhavnagar-Delhi 15:45Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Sunday Delhi-Bhavnagar 6:40Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Sunday Bhavnagar-Mumbai 9:05Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Sunday Mumbai-Bhavnagar 14:20Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Sunday Bhavnagar-Surat 14:40Thursday, Saturday &Sunday Surat-Bhavnagar 13:35Thursday, Saturday & Sunday Flight schedule

SpiceJet is an Indian low-cost carrier based at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. SpiceJet is one of India's largest airlines, serving domestic destinations across India. The airline commenced international operations in Oct-2010 and now provides services to overseas destinations including cities in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

SpiceJet's new generation Bombardier Q400 is a twin-engined, medium-range, turboprop aircraft. The aircraft, Introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984, is now produced by Bombardier Aerospace. The seating arrangement is a comfortable 2-2 Economy Class setting.