SINGAPORE – More than 10,000 aviation workers, including those in operational, training and management roles, will be polled as part of a sector-wide survey that will, for the first time, track changes to safety culture.

The aim of the new survey is to help aviation companies understand how their employees view and value safety, and which areas can be improved, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) on Thursday.

The survey will be conducted annually, which will allow CAAS to identify new trends.

The findings from the first poll will be released in September, setting a baseline for future comparisons.

About 400 companies, including airlines, ground handlers, maintenance firms, training organisations and freight forwarders, will be involved.

The authority had conducted a similar survey in 2021, but it was of a smaller scale and focused more on the impact of Covid-19 on safety practices and mindsets.

In that poll, more than 90 per cent of the 1,347 respondents said safety remained a priority despite the upheavals caused by the pandemic.

They also said there was a need to create a better environment where staff feel safe to report mistakes – an area CAAS said it would work with companies on.

On Wednesday, Transport Minister S. Iswaran gave a speech at the inaugural Asia-Pacific Summit for Aviation Safety highlighting the importance of a positive safety culture as air travel in the region continues to recover and operations ramp up.

“Every worker must instinctively treat safety as a top priority. They must be given the resources and time to work safely, and be empowered to speak up,” he told attendees, which included top aviation officials from more than 20 countries, at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.