Managing Change in Flight Operations - Introducing a Centralised Duty Fleet Manager Role at TUI’s Operations Control Centre

Abstract

Airlines undergo continuous organisational change in response to external pressures and internal drivers, leading to mergers and acquisitions, downsizing, restructuring and efficiency programmes. However, these changes often fail to achieve their intended objective, making the governance of managing change important, particularly for high reliability organisations (HROs) where changes can compromise safety. This study investigates the organisational restructuring and downsizing of the Flight Operations department in one of European’s largest charter airlines, TUI Airlines, exploring the context of the change, the key hazards and TUI airlines’ approach to Management of Change (MoC), using the centralisation of the Duty Fleet Manager (DFM) function at TUI’s Operations Control Centre (TOCC) as a case study. A critical review of academic literature, regulatory guidance, and TUI Airlines’ internal materials was undertaken to examine organisational restructuring, particularly downsizing, its drivers and consequences, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the MoC process. Primary data was also collected via semi-structured interviews with 11 participants, analysed via thematic analysis; company field observations provided additional context. Results show that downsizing in the case study was both driven by a mix of external pressures and deliberate managerial strategy. Major risks comprised, at the organisational level, an unfavourable cost–benefit balance, increased resistance to change, and culture clash; and, at the employee level, increased workload and the emergence of a ‘survivor’ culture. The MoC process, specifically hazard identification, is effective overall but bureaucratic, outdated, subjective, and weak on post-implementation monitoring. The implications for management translate into recommendations to mitigate key risks and consequences: adopt a phased and fair approach with strong involvement from low-to-mid-level managers; provide targeted training for remaining employees; and apply change-management practices alongside the MoC. To improve the MoC itself, digitise and unify existing templates across Air Operator Certificates (AOCs) into a single, streamlined e-form. This exploratory study provided empirical insights into a specific case study, providing value to both researchers and practitioners. However, since this research focuses on a specific case, readers should carefully consider the extent to which the findings may be applicable to other contexts.