Expect the unexpected

And calmness is necessary in these situations. Stresses have the potential to stir as it becomes obvious those home commitments today are just going to have to wait. Ground staff will be caught on the hop and operations will be playing catch-up. Everyone will be endeavouring to perform at 110 per cent to get the schedule and passengers back on track. While this is both inevitable and admirable, the flightdeck will be the place from which the balanced voice of reason must emerge.

If fatigue is a factor, it must be recognised. If people are rushing about, this is when errors can be easily made. Load sheets and flight plans may have to be completed manually and faxed off rather than the everyday means facilitated by the computer age. This all takes time and extra care to cope with a level of unfamiliarity and haste is not only waste, it may be downright dangerous. Flight and cabin crew alike must remain focused on their primary task of operating the aeroplane and regardless of commercial pressures or well-intentioned efforts, safety must always come before schedule.

Diversions, like so many other unforeseen occurrences, also impact on the lives of the crew. There are children to pick up from school, dinner engagements or cars that need to be taken in for servicing.

These are some of the issues of everyday life that are far more easily managed in the nine-to-five world. However, it is all just part of the job and those who have been around the industry for any length of time tend to respond with little more than, “. . . ain’t it always the way” when plans go awry.

It is also something to discuss with the starry-eyed aspiring flight-crew who inevitably seek advice on an aviation career. Along with the fact exams and study will never end throughout your entire operational life, unpredictability is another oft-overlooked factor. Whether it be moving towns to pursue the next career step or something as simple as fog being obstructionist, a career in aviation demands flexibility.

If you want every night in your own bed or even in the same town and every weekend free to play sport, a job on the flightdeck or in the cabin is not the one to choose.

Often this lifestyle is at odds with the rest of the world and not terribly well understood by dinner party hosts and soccer coaches. And while these relationships need to be managed, the home front is where flightcrew often need the real support. It takes a special person to be the spouse of a pilot or cabin crew member. After all, they never signed up for the job.

Yet they are the ones who so often have to show the highest degree of adaptability and independence in the face of minimal ground support. From playing the role of both parents to uprooting and organising removalists for the belongings and new schools for the children, it is a thankless task. While the aviator is buried in the books studying a new aircraft type, their partner can be found keeping multiple balls in the air to the accompaniment of crying children.

Yes, aviation is an unpredictable business on so many levels. In the grand picture of a global industry it is at the mercy of just about every economic whim, corporate cycle and the latest pandemic. At a macro level, one can never be sure where home will be tonight. This quality makes aviation a wild ride for managers and workers alike, but in some ways it offers a strange allure on occasions.

Most crew ended up in the business in the first place as they sought an industry that was not defined by four walls and the same window every day. The variety offered by a flying career is both attractive and disruptive, but that’s OK.

Even on the same route, the weather, traffic and sunsets will vary. That variety is even prevalent when the unforeseen, such as diversions, occur. It is something a little different from the everyday and throws up its own unique challenges for the crew, testing their knowledge and airmanship in ways that may differ from the routine. The workload may increase in these situations, but most crew actually enjoy applying the skills and principles they have developed over the years.

The goal of airline operations is to produce routine, predictable outcomes to the backdrop of a very fluid environment. The amazing part is that the whole orchestrated effort actually comes together so smoothly as it does in the vast majority of cases. When it doesn’t, the crew are often called on to operate away from their normal realm while still maintaining a mantle of safety.

And for all the disruptions these events may cause to a ‘normal’ life, there are very few who would swap the variety such a career can offer.

If you want routine, then seek the job with the four walls, one window and a Bundy clock. However, if you choose the aviation road it will soon become apparent that one must be prepared for the untoward and always expect the unexpected.

Every day offers a different view from ‘the office’. julian green

Diversions, like so many other unforeseen occurrences, also impact on the lives of the crew.