Japan Airlines (JAL) is facing concerns from its staff regarding safety and training issues, according to recent reports. Ground handling staff and pilots at the airline have expressed apprehension about a lack of on-the-job training and difficulties communicating with more senior employees, amid a series of safety incidents at the carrier.
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The concerns come as JAL has been dealing with a number of safety-related incidents. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many ground handling staff between the ages of 30 and 50 left JAL to try their luck elsewhere because they didn’t see an immediate recovery in the airline industry, breaking a connecting string between veterans and younger staff, the people said. Those employees would have normally provided informal training to new recruits, and younger people now feel unable to freely ask questions of more senior workers, they added.
In terms of the pilot workforce, with many pilots having retired early during the pandemic, the airline has recruited flight crews to fill those open cockpit positions in the time since. Such an environment is making it more difficult for pilots to communicate and interact with each other in a country where a seniority-based hierarchy is still very much installed in the national psyche, said unnamed sources employed by the airline. The safety concerns at JAL come to light following a series of incidents. In one incident, the wingtips of two JAL aircraft came into contact at Haneda airport as one was being pushed back from the terminal to prepare for take-off while the other was moving forward to enter an adjacent parking position. In another incident, a JAL flight from Tokyo to Bangkok was forced to return to Tokyo due to a problem with the plane's engine.
While JAL has declined to comment formally on the allegations of safety issues at the carrier, the Japanese airline touched upon the lack of skilled workforce at its shareholder meeting earlier in June 2024. The airline acknowledged the challenges it faces in maintaining a well-trained workforce in the wake of the pandemic. The situation at JAL highlights the challenges faced by the airline industry as it continues to recover from the impact of the pandemic. The need for adequate training and communication among staff is crucial for maintaining safety standards and ensuring the smooth operation of flights.