The aviation sector is one of the fastest-growing segments of the transportation industry responsible for a considerable share of greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, sustainability has become one of the central issues for the aviation sector. International regulatory bodies, airlines, and airport operators, along with aircraft manufacturers and suppliers have put forward initiatives to make aviation green. However, before the wider implementation of new sustainable practices, it is important to look at the opinion of passengers, as customers, on these matters. For this reason, this study aims to explore the knowledge and attitudes of Slovak passengers about green initiatives in aviation. The information about passengers’ knowledge and attitudes was collected through an online questionnaire. The data obtained from 514 respondents were evaluated employing descriptive and inferential statistics. From the results, several conclusions are apparent. Slovak passengers have generally weak environmental knowledge; therefore, it is important to provide them with enough relevant information to make informed decisions. The passengers have generally neutral to positive attitudes towards green initiatives in aviation, with the exception when these initiatives endanger their comfort or finances. For the development of green aviation, it is essential to increase the number of passengers with overall positive attitudes.
English is used in all parts of aviation, especially in aircraft maintenance, where all documentation and various manuals are written in this language. However, there are no formal requirements for aircraft mechanics to have a certain level of English. Nevertheless, aircraft mechanics must master their English language skills, since they are needed for managing their work tasks. This study deals with the issue of insufficiency of standardized English courses, and determines the English language needs of aircraft maintenance in the Slovak Republic, using a triangular approach. The gathered data from 80 respondents for this paper were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics, which were calculated by the means of Jamovi statistical software. The results revealed that aircraft mechanics engage most often in communication situations that require their knowledge of the reading skill. The importance of all language skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking) is proven by the determination of the most-common communication activities of aircraft mechanics, which should be included in specialized English courses. The results of this study are useful in the creation of language courses which increase the level of English in aircraft maintenance, thus, increasing safety in aviation.
The article investigates the possibilities for the miscibility and practical use of different concentrations of biofuel rapeseed fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) with aviation kerosene Jet A-1 (or aviation kerosene PL-7 used in the Air Force of the Slovak Republic) in aircraft jet engines. The main objective of this research was the experimental verification of the technical possibilities of reliable operation of the experimental engine SJE-20 in a special laboratory of small jet engines using different concentrations of the mixture of aviation kerosene Jet A-1 and biofuel FAME and their influence on the selected operating parameters of the experimental engine. The motivation for this research is the desire to replace conventional aviation fuels with fuels that can be obtained from renewable sources. Investigation of the possibilities of powering the experimental SJE-20 engine with a mixture of traditional aviation kerosene Jet A-1 (PL-7) and rapeseed fatty acid methyl ester FAME was the subject of the internal project BIOFUEL (Biofuel for Aviation).
Queueing theory is currently a widely used method for optimizing activities not only in air transport but also in other sectors, in both production and the use of personnel. Using this theory, it is possible to simulate in advance various scenarios that may arise during aircraft handling, handling of passengers and their luggage, cargo, or in production lines. This article aims to point out the possibilities of modeling queueing systems in air transport using a simulation model. It applies the measured data from the airport to the created simulation model, analyzes the knowledge gained from the simulations, and then proposes improvements or elimination of problems that may arise during the process in order to dimension the most favorable number of parallel service desks. During this process, we chose to evaluate the criteria of the efficiency of service check-in desks in the passenger handling process at the international airport in Košice and Prague. The handling process at the airport in Košice for weekly flights to Warsaw and at the airport in Prague also for flights to Warsaw during one week in the summer of 2019 was analyzed in more detail. During modeling, five efficiency criteria were monitored, which were focused on the probability of passengers waiting and their time spent waiting for their handling at the check-in desk. However, in these experiments, only the time spent at the check-in desk was taken into account; the following security, passport, and other checks were not included. As part of the evaluation of the efficiency of the passenger handling process, it was concluded that the critical point in the optimization of the handling process is dimensioning the optimal number of check-in desks, which had the greatest impact on the speed and possibility of processing all requests that entered the system. Therefore, it is advisable to first choose the most suitable number of desks and then work with other parameters that are adapted to the individual requirements for optimizing the handling process at airports.