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The global aviation landscape has evolved extensively. With the rapid economic growth prior to the financial crisis and more countries entering into 'Open Sky' agreements, the demands for air travel have exploded within regions and across continents. Ultra long-haul flights have been introduced by many carriers and the much heralded A380 had made its first commercial flight from Singapore to Sydney in 2008. As the flight times become extended and airways get more congested, pilots and air traffic controllers will face more complex environments with reduced margins for error even in routine operations.
Alongside these trends is the increasing popularity of medical tourism. The growing numbers of individuals traveling abroad to seek medical treatment for pre-existing ailments will drive the demand for better medical care to patients being transported by air, especially for critically ill individuals who require repatriation. This has opened up new dimensions in the application of aviation medicine for this emerging segment of air travellers.
The SARS epidemic of 2003 and the recent influenza A H1N1 pandemic have demonstrated that globalised air travel and cross-border spread of infectious diseases are intricately linked and have far-reaching public health consequences. Widespread air travel has effectively converted every local disease outbreak into one of global concern. In this light, aviation medicine will need to adopt grater public health agenda in advising protection for aircrew, cabin crew and the traveling public.
In the military aviation arena, the introductions of higher performance flighters have a accentuated man's physiological limitations. To keep pace with aircraft platform advancements, a re-think of military aircrew training philosophies and pedagogies will be necessary. This will see a greater independence on high fidelity aviation physiology trainers to help military aviators prepare and condition themselves for the stresses of operating these next generation aircraft.
Finally, the increasing interest in space tourism is a sure sign that the frontiers of aerospace medicine will have to be pushed further in the near future. In another decade or two, space travel for the common man will be a distinct possibility. For aerospace medicine, this is a portent of the second wave of exciting new developments and challenges, just as when commercial air travel was first introduced in the mid-20th century.
The theme of ICASM 2010 "A New Era of Relevance for Aerospace Medicine", highlights the need for aerospace medicine to embrace a renewed relevance in today's world. By encouraging practitioners from across the globe to take stock of recent and emerging trends, it aims to promote discourse that will challenge conventional norms and seed ideas in applied aviation physiology and clinical aviation medicine to meet the needs of the future.
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