Aircraft Cabin Safety Awareness of Secondary School Students Traveling Internationally in Organized Groups: An Analysis of Personal and Travel Behavior Factors

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to 1) examine the level of aircraft cabin safety awareness among secondary school students traveling internationally in organized groups, 2) compare levels of cabin safety awareness based on personal factors, and 3) investigate travel behavior factors influencing cabin safety awareness. This study employed a quantitative research design using Endsley’s situational awareness theory as the conceptual framework. The sample consisted of 400 lower and upper secondary school students from four regions of Thailand, selected through stratified random sampling. The research instrument was a questionnaire validated by three experts (IOC = 0.67–1.00; reliability coefficient = 0.928). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. The findings revealed that 1) the overall level of cabin safety awareness was at the highest level (x̅ = 4.42, S.D. = 0.53); 2) Personal factors, including age, grade level, and hometown, significantly influenced safety awareness at the 0.05 level; 3) travel behavior, experience, information exposure, interest, and perceived importance of safety had significant effects on safety awareness, whereas travel frequency showed no significant influence. This suggests that frequent travel alone is insufficient to develop a meaningful understanding of safety. These findings may serve as guidelines for developing educational media and activities to enhance aviation safety awareness and support the sustainable integration of safety knowledge into educational contexts.