Safety assessment model for dangerous goods transport by air carrier

The safety of dangerous goods transport by air is directly related to human health and environmental pollution. This paper investigates a model to evaluate the safety performance of the transport of dangerous goods by air carriers. Based on a literature review, international regulations related to dangerous goods air transportation, and expert opinions, this paper identifies an assessment factor system with five drivers: organization/regulations, equipment/facilities, operations, emergency, and training. A hybrid evaluation method of a joint analytical hierarchy process and entropy weight is used to determine the importance of each factor and driver. The results suggest that the regulation of dangerous goods acceptance, sufficient equipment/facilities, and the condition of the equipment/facilities are the most important factors affecting the safety performance of dangerous goods transportation by air. An empirical study reveals that the proposed model is stable and reliable; thus, the model can guide resource allocation for air carriers to improve safety management of dangerous goods transportation.