An Analysis of the Competency Service Satisfaction and Causal Relationship of Airport Operations Officers Based on the Perceptual Perspective of Flight Operations Officers: A Case Study of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport

This study is an exploratory single-case study. As the complexity of aviation transport systems continues to escalate, the safety and operational efficiency of airside operations are increasingly reliant on real-time cross-unit information sharing and collaborative decision-making. Flight Operations Officers (FOs) and Airport Operations Officers (AOs) fulfill crucial roles as intermediaries between flight operations and airport airside management. Nevertheless, existing research has predominantly concentrated on airport-wide safety management systems or macro-level assessments of operational performance, with comparatively limited focus on a comprehensive analysis of perceived competency service quality satisfaction (Perceived Competency Satisfaction). This study adopts the perspective of FOs to assess the competency performance of AOs in airside management and safety support, employing an evaluation framework based on the four dimensions of the Safety Management System (SMS): Safety Policy, Safety Risk Management, Safety Assurance, and Safety Promotion. A questionnaire survey methodology is employed, targeting 24 senior FOs permanently stationed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport as the primary respondents. The study applies Yeh’s Satisfaction Index (YSI) and the Revised Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (Revised DEMATEL) method to quantify their evaluations of AOs’ competency quality and to elucidate the causal relationships among key influencing factors. The findings indicate that AOs’ Reporting Accuracy and Timeliness, as well as Operational Record Management and Retrieval, are comparatively weaker. Additionally, Cross-Departmental Communication and Information Dissemination are identified as primary influencing factors, whereas Safety and Security Operations and Primary Contingency Response Coordination are recognized as the principal affected factors. This study is subject to the constraints of a single-airport setting and a small-sample perceptual survey, with findings centered on the perceptual assessment of cross-unit communication. The insights derived from this research are expected to contribute to the reduction in airside risks, the enhancement of aviation safety standards, and serve as a practical reference for airside safety governance at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.