What Does Ethics in the Aviation Profession Mean? by Pilot Diego Llorente

Ethics in the Aviation Profession (by Pilot Diego Llorente)

      Let's talk about the term "Ethics in Aviation." The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines this term as the discipline that deals with good and bad. linked to duty and moral obligation. In my opinion, whenever we talk about Ethics, we must talk about morality. Therefore, I believe that Ethics is defined as a decision that is made, whether correct or incorrect in the face of a fact and/or an event, where this decision must be based on its correct morality. By linking the term Ethics with morality is the right way or thing to do. The aim is because without morality there can be no ethics, and without ethics, there can be no morality. The moral principle gives correspondence of our words, thoughts, and actions of the discernment of what is correct or wrong. 

          Ethics and morality are of utmost importance for the development and course of our actual or future decisions and action in life. How are these concepts linked to professional development in the aviation industry? In life, Ethics and morality are very important but in the environment of Aviation, it is not an exception. Ethics is of the utmost importance and has an important role, especially for a company. In this case, it would be an airline and/or corporate aeronautical company. Ethical behavior is relevant in aviation for several reasons. 

          First, there are many risks at stake in aviation. It is not just your own life or your job position. Pilots carry a lot of life called passengers or a lot of important staffs called medical necessities such as vaccines or medicines. It goes beyond. Every people who work in Aviation must perform correct ethical and moral values from pilots to the check-in staff. To be specific, I would like to analyze the pilot's role. Every pilot must use a correct ADM (Aeronautical Decision Making), Risk Management and they must have a high degree of knowledge, skills, and proficiency to provide security. Safety in aviation comes first. That is why nothing more or less than ethical-moral values are the key to aviation. 

Credits: Simulator B737-NG Pilot Diego Llorente 

         

           Secondly, the aeronautical companies, nowadays, want to hire people ethically and morally trained, where their main intention is to make the right decision and the appropriate action in an "x" or "y" situation when it comes to doing so. For this reason, it can be seen that the requirement to be hired is increasingly demanding. The Aviation companies seek to guarantee not only ethics and moral values but also adequate training and capacitation. I said, "Safety is first", but "Preparation and constant training is the key", always founded on ethical and moral values. 

             

           Third, I think that Ethics and professionalism are an integral part of the aviation industry. To be more specific, the aviation industry is focused on professionalism, safety, capacitation, and taking actions according to the correct moral and ethical values. In Aviation, high professional and ethical standards are required of everyone in the chain from check-in staff, to the designer to the pilot to ensure safe flight operations. Ethics in aviation is a must. 

 

                                                    Simulator B737-NG Pilot Diego Llorente 

             Finally, everything, as I express above, is located in my book "El sueño de ser piloto comercial",  chapter Alfa, which states that Human Factors and Ethics, and values in Aviation play an important role to define how important is the responsibility that pilots have linked to the moral and ethical values regarding their actions, and decisions are taken in performance because many lives depend on the hands of a pilot. By making a link between Ethics in the Aviation profession, we are referring to an important or the key definition to the aeronautical field "The principle of the professionalism, discipline, and safety that every pilot need to being part of the aeronautical environment." Without Ethics, there are no moral values. Without moral values, there is no Ethics. And without both, there is no Aeronautical profession. 

References: 

Llorente, D. (2021a). El sueño de ser piloto comercial: De América Latina a los Estados Unidos (Spanish Edition) (1st ed.). Editorial Autores de Argentina.