Fight, Flight or Stall

It should be. 

Some weeks ago, I spoke with a New Zealand pilot, he was fielding calls from colleagues, calls of hopelessness. The word suicide was openly mentioned. 

Most weeks I hear from flight crew who are in the final stages of their careers and not by choice. Flying has defined them. It is an identity, one of the few remaining life-long careers. At least that is how they see it. Thirty-odd years ago flying was akin to a vocation. It is unlikely they will ever return to it. 

I am not a mental health expert but it doesn’t take one to know that these symptoms are very real. When it impacts an entire industry ecosystem we ignore it at our peril. 

Changing how you define yourself and your role in the world is something many of us do at different stages of life. We do it because we are compelled to do it in one way or another. This is different, this has been forced upon thousands in our industry. It is not a choice, it has been imposed. When our choices are stripped from us, the feeling is one of dispossession and disillusionment. 

Individuals handle struggle differently, hence my title ‘Fight, flight or stall’. Whether your struggle management is the ‘power through’ or ‘she’ll be right’ optimist, the ‘this is all I have’ or ‘my life is ruined’ persona or the fighter who rails ‘you can’t do that to me’ – each person is facing the same uncertainty. 

I can’t fix the industry and neither can you. As individuals, however, if we can impact one life, yes just one – it matters. That is one of my guiding philosophies. 

I have afforded myself one luxury despite our COVID cutbacks; a fortnightly cleaner as I am fully aware of my homemaker failings. My cleaner has a young family and a husband in aviation. She is part of a cleaning organisation whose other jobs are as cabin crew. Most cabin crew are stood down. So, I kept my cleaner. 

Stood down – so you still have a job, right? Well, it’s a bit more complex than that. Forced redundancy is at the least an absolute. Others face a decision, take the redundancy offer or stay and hope that you can step into your job again when the world reopens. Aviation gets in the blood, leaving is like cutting an artery, but they have to decide. 

I reconnected with a long-time pilot come friend, redundant for seven months. His side business has also been shut down due to COVID restrictions in Victoria. Sometimes you must feel like you just can’t win. 

A global industry means a global workforce. Those ex-pat pilots and cabin crew based in the Middle East, US or Asia have been sent home. For some it is the first time they have had to replant themselves in Australia or New Zealand for many years. Life interrupted. 

After gathering the context for the first half of this story, I felt a little gloomy. This needs some balance, stories from those who have reclaimed, reinvented or rebounded from this reality: The pilot inviting colleagues to his ‘side hustle’. A rural property with cabins so they can hang out, get their hands dirty and heads straight; then there is a single dad back from Asia with a young child in tow, taking time out to be a fulltime dad and relishing it. 

Side hustles and non-industry career changes taking off, excuse the pun. 

The care and camaraderie of the aviation industry is evident as groups of 20-plus cabin crew reconnect each week through harbour-side walk and talks. Pilots with established secondary incomes and businesses, hiring and training colleagues. Industry associations fighting hard for their members and affiliates, providing free resources and advocating to secure a future, no matter the odds. 

The airline cadet on the verge of graduating who made the quickest pivot ever, becoming an instructor and is now in charge of course development. 

You may be thinking, why am I telling you these stories? I usually adhere to the theme of the publication for a particular edition. I talk about trends in recruitment, issues, new hiring criteria, that sort of thing – not this time. 

This time I decided to write about the struggles, the heroes and the realities I’ve encountered in 2020. It is in our shared stories, our shared industry and our collective support that we will prevent the preventable and catch those who fall. We will stay connected and strive to see opportunities in among the chaos. We will celebrate small wins and hold fast to those who are overcome. 

Each of our realities differs, only ourselves and those closest to us know our truths. Assume nothing, act with compassion and we each must do what we can.