Structural Equation Modeling for Airspace Optimization: The Analysis of Causal Factors Influencing Aviation Safety

Abstract

Increased flight volumes necessitate urgent reforms in Airspace Management (ASM) to mitigate risks of fatalities and near-misses. In order to enhance aviation system safety, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) mandates that state parties must conduct the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program (USOAP) to continuously monitor civil aviation. This research aims to identify critical factors influencing Thailand’s ASM by employing experimental design and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze influences and relationships among communication, surveillance, navigation, Air Traffic Management (ATM), and ASM. The methodology includes stimulation and a questionnaire-based survey conducted with aviation professionals and mapping out their answers to find the influences, relationships, and importance of the different factors. The results were validated using various statistical tools. The findings indicate signi1ficant direct and indirect effects on ASM, emphasizing that effective communication and robust surveillance are essential for safety and operational efficiency. This study highlights the need to increase the ASM framework, providing actionable insights for optimizing air traffic control in response to the growing air traffic demand. Furthermore, SEM for Airspace optimization can be applied internationally to significantly reduce accidents and incidents in the future.