The COVID-19 pandemic saw the travel industry come to a standstill for many months. But now the sector is getting back on track as the vaccines have made their way across the globe and the countries are reopening its borders for tourism. A number of pilots returned to the cockpits after a break during the pandemic but many of them have lost confidence to fly and are committing mistakes while flying that could also end up being disastrous.
One of the pilots who returned flying forgot to switch on the second engine for takeoff, a mistake that could end in a disaster, if the flight was not aborted. Another pilot who was laid off for seven months and returned realized late to lower the wheels while landing and pulled out at just 800 feet before touchdown. Another passenger plane had headed the wrong direction after being away for six months from duty. All these incidences have been reported in the United States in recent times and the crew has blamed shortage of flying during the COVID.
The pandemic hurt as many as 1,00,000 pilots across the globe out of those many have not flown for nearly 18 months. Uwe Harter, a grounded Airbus SE A380 pilot for Deutsche Lufthansa AG opined that it is a critical situation and the last thing that the industry wants is a bad accident. Some of the airlines are providing retraining for the pilots but others continue to remain ignorant. Authorities have expressed concerns that the regulations that are in place are just not enough. However, the authorities are not blind but the top aviation regulator in Europe and other bodies have now published a detailed raining guideline that would help the airline pilots to get back to the air with confidence.
However, the fact remains that none of the classrooms, or virtual theory or practice can replace facing the real-life challenges and crisis of a cockpit.
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