Merry Christmas from the flight deck
For most people, the holiday season provides an opportunity to spend quality time with near and dear ones, but for those of us working in the airline industry, December is one of the busiest months of the year, and the December roster is something most of us are looking forward to with a mix of fear and anticipation. Will we get to spend Christmas Eve with our families? Under a palm tree? Or at flight level 350 somewhere over Russia?
Martin @theregionalpilot
I am celebrating Christmas at home in Denmark. So far, I have never had to celebrate Christmas away from home, which I think is great, because at this time of the year, you want to be with your family. The airline I am working for has a reduced number of flights over the holidays, so only a few people will have to spend Christmas away from home.
Mike @rednosepilot
Tonight I am celebrating Christmas at home with my family in AAL (Aalborg, Denmark). For the 10 years I have been working as an airline pilot, I have been lucky and I have never had to work on Christmas Eve (knock on wood), which is when we celebrate Christmas in Denmark. Though a couple of years ago, I was flying to Dubai for a layover on the 22nd of December. I was supposed to fly back on the 23rd so I would be landing in Denmark early morning on the 24th, -perfect timing to get home and rested for Christmas dinner. Though because of fog in Dubai, the plane that we should have flown home diverted to Al Maktoum Airport, while the crew and all the passengers waiting to fly back to Copenhagen were in Dubai International Airport. The flight was delayed for many hours and while my family was having delicious Christmas dinner, I had McDonalds take-out food somewhere over Iran. This has been my only Christmas celebration on an out station so far, and it was not all bad, as I got the chance to catch up with Sanne and Poul for lunch at The Ritz in Dubai.
Michael @gilbertcojoe
Hello out there! I am celebrating Christmas with my sister. She just had a baby and she has invited the whole family over for Christmas:)
I have never worked on Christmas Eve, because fortunately, most people (including our passengers) prefer to stay at home that night. Knock on wood (as Mike S says) I have been really lucky, though next winter, I will be flying out of Stockholm, and it will be harder to make it back in time for Christmas in Denmark.
Magnus @captainmagnus
Back in 2013, I was celebrating Christmas with my crew in Bangkok, but otherwise, I have been off for the holidays as far back as I remember. This year I will be landing from SFO (San Francisco) the day before Christmas. I sing in a choir in Sweden and on my last flight before Christmas, I usually sing for the crew and the passengers on board. This year it will be “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”.
