Human factors masih menjadi kontributor dominan terhadap kecelakaan di sektor penerbangan. Laporan IATA (2024), termasuk situational awareness. Mental workload (MWL) diketahui sebagai salah satu faktor yang memengaruhi situational awareness (SA). Petugas Airside Operation berperan penting dalam menjaga keselamatan dan kelancaran operasional bandara, tetapi kajian mengenai MWL dan SA pada unit ini masih terbatas. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis tingkat MWL dan SA, serta hubungan antara kedua variabel tersebut pada petugas Airside Operation. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan mixed method dengan desain cross-sectional pada komponen kuantitatif dan thematic analysis pada komponen kualitatif. Subjek penelitian terdiri atas 56 responden dan 8 informan petugas Airside Operation di Bandara X pada bulan September-Desember 2025. Data kuantitatif dikumpulkan menggunakan kuesioner NASA-TLX dan SART, sedangkan data kualitatif diperoleh melalui wawancara semi terstruktur. Analisis data kuantitatif dilakukan menggunakan uji korelasi Pearson, sementara data kualitatif dianalisis menggunakan thematic analysis. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa sebagian besar responden memiliki MWL kategori tinggi (53,6%) dan SA kategori sedang (71,4%). Analisis korelasi menunjukkan adanya hubungan negatif yang signifikan antara MWL dan SA (r = −0,370; p = 0,005). Hasil thematic analysis mengidentifikasi 9 tema utama yang menggambarkan fenomena MWL dan SA pada petugas Airside Operation. Temuan ini menegaskan pentingnya pengelolaan MWL dan SA sebagai bagian dari upaya peningkatan keselamatan operasional bandara.

Human factors remain a dominant contributor to accidents in the aviation sector. The IATA report (2024) highlights human factors, including situational awareness. Mental workload (MWL) is recognized as one of the factors influencing situational awareness (SA). Airside Operation personnel play a crucial role in maintaining airport safety and operational efficiency; however, studies on MWL and SA within this unit remain limited. This study aims to analyze the levels of MWL and SA and examine the relationship between these two variables among Airside Operation personnel. This study employed a mixed-method approach, consisting of a cross-sectional design for the quantitative component and thematic analysis for the qualitative component. The study participants included 56 respondents and 8 informants from the Airside Operation unit at Airport X, collected between November and December 2025. Quantitative data were obtained using the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) and the Situation Awareness Rating Technique (SART), while qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation test, and qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results indicated that the majority of respondents experienced high MWL (53.6%) and moderate SA (71.4%). Correlation analysis revealed a significant negative relationship between MWL and SA (r = −0.370; p = 0.005). The thematic analysis identified nine main themes describing the phenomena of MWL and SA among Airside Operation personnel. These findings highlight the importance of managing mental workload and situational awareness as part of efforts to enhance airport operational safety.