‘Treated like animals’: traumatised pilots can’t seek mental health counselling post-pandemic without risk of being grounded

‘In Hong Kong, they put cable ties on the bus [door handles] to and from the hotel … Everyone was borderline depressed,’ says a pilot based in the city

Pilots going through post-Covid stress should have access to mental support without compromising their medical certification, a researcher says

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Pilots who flew during the Covid pandemic faced enormous stress, and many in Hong Kong were vilified after two flight attendants breached quarantine. Now they risk being grounded if they seek mental health counselling. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 6:15pm, 19 Mar 2023Updated: 6:39pm, 19 Mar 2023

Hong Kong is emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic and there is a rush to welcome visitors – including through the Hello, Hong Kong campaign. But take a moment to consider those men and women at the front of the planes who operated in pressure-cooker conditions for three years.

Pilots’ mental health has suffered a severe blow. Many would benefit from professional support, but they are reluctant to seek help for fear of losing their jobs.

“If you are a pilot and getting mental help, when the word gets out you could be grounded. It is a huge safety issue which no one talks about,” says John (not his real name), who works for a Hong Kong-based airline and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Pilots worked in what was called a “closed loop” system, being shuttled between airports and hotels for six weeks at a time and tested and monitored throughout.

Passenger planes were mostly grounded at various times during the pandemic, but pilots still flew vaccines, medical supplies and food. Many of these unsung heroes are suffering the after-effects of long enforced quarantine periods. Photo: Sam Tsang

“In Hong Kong, they put cable ties on the bus [door handles] to and from the hotel. We were treated like animals, everyone was borderline depressed. Going to work with all this in your head, it made the flying environment unsafe,” says John.

When Hong Kong’s fifth Covid-19 wave hit last year, and the finger of blame was pointed at flight crew, John felt deflated. For two years he’d been flying urgent vaccines, medical supplies and food into Hong Kong but, far from being recognised as a frontline worker, he and his colleagues were vilified in the media.