Drone delay: consumer willingness to fly after awareness of recent UAS event

Abstract

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) operated in the National Airspace system increase the potential for hazardous operations by remote pilots as well as intentional disruption of commercial aviation. Clothier et al. (2015) indicated that the perceived risk of UASs was equivalent to manned aircraft; however, recent UAS events at airports (e.g. Lee, 2019) illustrated possibilities for disruptive operation of UASs, making it important to understand the impacts on aviation. This study examined whether there is a change in consumer willingness to fly (Rice et al., 2015) before and after being made aware of a UAS event by reading a news article. The study was a repeated measures design; a survey measured participants' willingness to fly, presented a news article (Lee, 2019) describing a UAS event, and then measured willingness to fly again. Sixty-one undergraduate students in core Aeronautic, Communication, and Business courses at the Florida Institute of Technology participated. The results indicated that consumer willingness to fly decreased after being made aware of the UAS event. The large effect size also suggested that consumers are affected by a news article describing a UAS event, and more research should be done in this area. As UASs become more common, their exposure to the public will also increase as the media begins to focus on events similar to those described in the news article. This can lead to a decrease in consumer willingness to fly that could have detrimental effects on aviation businesses as consumers will opt for different modes of transportation.