Effect of a Break in Flying on the Piloting Precision in Airline Pilots

Global air transport was experiencing a steady growth for decades despite various economic or political crises. However, the worldwide spread of Covid-19 and its associated travel restrictions led to an unprecedented 60 % drop in global air traffic volume according to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). This has had a dramatic impact on airline companies and their pilots who were suddenly unable to practice their profession. In order to return to service, they had to go through a simulator scenario aimed at restoring crucial pilot competencies. The following paper describes an experiment conducted with the goal to verify whether a simulator scenario proposed by IATA and adopted by airline companies can restore such competencies. The tailored experiment scenario involved specific flight maneuvers and precision approaches together with theoretical knowledge test. It was completed on a flight simulator with 34 pilots holding a valid type rating for Boeing 737NG. One of the results of the experiment show that the accuracy of a pilot's manual flight may not always correspond with the workload they are subjectively experiencing.