With the effects of Coronavirus rippling across the industry, many pilots are facing the inevitability of being furloughed and out of work. One such pilot was Peter Login.
Peter, a 747 First Officer with UK Flag Carrier, British Airways, has been saluted for his temporary change in career after swapping the cockpit for a Tesco delivery van. During his period of being furloughed, Peter has taken up the role of a key-worker, delivering groceries for customers who are in lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Tweeting publicly, the BA First Officer said:
“After being hung up for a while [I am] back in the cockpit with the supermarket”
Adding the hashtag #ToDriveToServe – A play on BA’s motto of “To Fly, To Serve”
The move comes after British Airways were forced to ground all flights at London’s Gatwick airport and reduce flight numbers massively out of their main hub at Heathrow, resulting in over 30,000 cabin crew and ground staff being laid off; On top of this, over 4000 pilots were forced to take a 50% pay cut for the year.
The move by BA comes a second blow to Peter, who for the second time in just months has found himself out of work. Peter previously flew with tour-operator Thomas Cook flying on the 757/767 series of aircraft, before moving to BA last September as the carrier went bust. Before working for Thomas Cook, he flew for cargo giant DHL.
It’s amazing to hear of stories like these with Pilots, Cabin Crew and other industry professionals taking up key-worker roles across the world to support the Coronavirus Pandemic. We’ve seen a tremendous effort from easyJet & Virgin Atlantic crew volunteering for the NHS, to pilots like Peter taking up roles on the front-line.
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