Civil Society Organizations as Aviation’s Invisible Anchor and AVIAGOV Project

The aviation industry is more than just massive engines, sophisticated avionics systems, or flawless flight paths. The sustainability of this ecosystem depends on the synchronous functioning of multiple players, systems, and networks. Safety protocols, operational efficiency, technical standards, policy makers as well as the governance mechanisms that shape and oversee these rules...Within this ecosystem, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are the most dynamic yet academically under-researched actors. Functioning as social influencers across domains ranging from education and professional training to regulatory engagement, technological advancement, and sustainability initiatives, aviation CSOs are an invisible but vital part of the industry. As they represent the most "human-centered" aspect of aviation industry, they deserve special attention in the ongoing debates regarding what to do next in the midst of global uncertainties and rise of algorithmic systems driven by technological breakthroughs.

Governance: The Source of Legitimacy and Trust

At the heart of governance lies the idea that how an organization makes its decisions and to whom it is accountable is as important as what the organization actually does. And this is becoming increasingly more significant in today's world of growing uncertainty and immense complexity. Governance is a continuous process through which divergent interests are reconciled and collective actions are coordinated. In the specific context of civil aviation, good governance serves critical functions, such as giving voice to professional communities, contributing technical expertise to standard-setting processes, and holding decision-makers accountable.

However, the quality of governance in the civil society world is often tested on the fine line between amateur voluntarism and institutional professionalism. For a CSO to gain legitimacy in the sector and sustain its long-term performance, it must institutionalize transparency, accountability, and participatory decision-making mechanisms. Interestingly, the governance capacities of CSOs remain, to date, rarely assessed through systematic comparative standards in aviation context. Isn't this surprising given the highly regulated aviation environment?

The Gap Between Digital Success and Strategic Maturity

Turkiye's aviation industry is undergoing a massive transformation, with the potential to rank among the world's top ten countries in passenger traffic by 2037, according to IATA reports. The global network expansion of its airlines and the prestigious awards brought home stand as tangible proof of this success. However, these growth projections require more than just service quality. They also demand an investment in the governance quality of the CSOs that influence the sector.

Recent research conducted by our team (and supported by Tubitak) reveals an interesting picture regarding the governance priorities of civil aviation stakeholders in Türkiye. While industry practitioners (CSO members) find their operations highly successful in areas like digitalization and sectoral engagement, the academic community maintains a more critical stance toward formal governance mechanisms such as transparency and accountability. Moreover, we find that digitalization and communication stand out as the strongest muscles of Turkish aviation CSOs. High performance is observed in visible areas, from member registration systems to active social media usage. Conversely, areas requiring strategic depth such as internal audit mechanisms, long-term financial sustainability, and environmental impact reporting emerge currently as peripheral weaknesses. Overall, we find that governance is often perceived as a performance-oriented action but has not yet fully permeated into deep institutional structures. In short, we have a long path to walk. So, we'd better set on the way as soon as possible.

AVIAGOV: A Tool for Evaluation and Competition

In aviation, quality is not merely a technical concept. It constitutes a strategic source of competitive advantage. From this perspective and focusing on a neglected actor, we developed the AVIAGOV (Aviation Governance Index) to assess the governance quality of aviation-focused civil society organizations. Despite its limitations and the need for further efforts to improve it, we believe that it is a visionary framework that can be regarded as a "National Oscar" or benchmarking system for aviation CSOs.

While creating the AVIAGOV, we wanted to go beyond the evaluations of CSO representatives and incorporated the theoretical perspectives of academics specializing in governance literature. Through this multi-perspective evaluation process emerged the AVIAGOV Index as a comprehensive governance assessment model.

The primary objective of the index was not to simply rank organizations. We aimed to find a yardstick to use for identifying the need for strengthening (which) institutional capacities, enhancing transparency, promoting stakeholder participation, and ultimately contributing to attracting qualified human capital to the aviation sector. Along the way, we hoped that the AVIAGOV would have the potential to accelerate the alignment of the aviation civil society ecosystem with international standards and to foster substantive institutionalization rather than merely symbolic alignment.

Governance in aviation directly impacts everything from flight safety to sectoral prestige. Increasing the collective knowledge in this field and bridging the gap between academic rigor and industry dynamism is more critical than ever.

To further the synergy between civil society and the academic world, we recently organized on May 2026 the AIRS'2026 (International Aviation Management Research Symposium) that provided a vibrant platform to discuss all aspects of aviation management in depth, including governance. We had the opportunity to share the preliminary results for AVIAGOV and receive live feedback from aviation partners. Being a part of these discussions has helped participants to shape the future of our industry as a shared responsibility for all who wish to design sustainable success in aviation. The outcomes of the symposium will soon be published in a proceedings volume for the wider aviation community.

We believe that aviation civil society will continue to play a guiding role in the sector's development to the extent that it advances its own institutional maturity and governance quality. In this respect, initiatives such as AVIAGOV, together with scientific dialogue platforms like AIRS 2026 and the forthcoming AIRS 2027, can serve as important spaces for reflection, discussion, and institutional learning within the aviation ecosystem.

This article is based on the key findings and strategic implications of the TUBITAK project titled "Good Governance in Civil Society Organizations in Civil Aviation," coordinated by İnan Eryılmaz.

UTED (UÇAK TEKNİSYENLERİ DERNEĞİ), AYLIK HAVACILIK DERGİSİ'NDE YAYINLANMIŞTIR.