There are many reasons that pilots may choose to quit and pursue a different career path. Here’s a reason I’ve never heard of, though, as flagged by AirlineGeeks.
Veteran Air France captain quits over “eco-anxiety”
A former Air France captain named Anthony Viaux has taken to LinkedIn, to share his major career change. In a lengthy post that’s written in French, he explains how a few days ago he did “the craziest thing” of his life, by resigning from his position as a captain at Air France.
He explains that he never thought he would write those words, as it was his dream to be a pilot from a young age, and he has been at the airline for more than 20 years. He had recently taken a two-year sabbatical, “the only solution [he] had found to take stock and try to lighten a little the weight of the eco-anxiety that was gnawing at [him].”
He goes on to acknowledge that there are industries that are more polluting than aviation, and that it would be absurd to accuse aviation of all evil, but we also shouldn’t turn a blind eye. While other industries are decarbonizing, he notes how Airbus plans to double the number of aircraft in the world by 2041. Even with more efficient planes, emissions will increase. As he concludes:
But these days, each flight and its magic comes at a high price, the tanks of my Airbus not being filled with words or dreams, but with oil, intended to be burned.
Today my heart is heavy. To leave my colleagues, and because reaching the position of captain remains the holy grail of any pilot. Thank you to all those I have had the chance and the pleasure to meet over all these years, thank you to my crews, colleagues and friends for sharing all these moments in the four corners of the globe!
I really loved working at Air France. However, today I feel the pressing need to realign myself with my inner compass, which tells me that my convictions are no longer in line with this profession.
Of course, I am aware that my resignation will not save the planet of course, but burning thousands of liters of kerosene every time I went to work, I couldn’t do it anymore.
I am now heading towards other horizons: naturopathy, music, writing an essay on my experience as a pilot with regard to my ecological awareness, a podcast (“Health by nature”)…
I hope he finds meaning with his new path
I have no judgment for this guy, and just wish him the best with his new path. Obviously it’s incredibly rare to see a pilot quit their career over environmental concerns — talk about putting your money where your mouth is.
We only have one life to live, and we should do everything in our power to live in a way that aligns with our values. I commend him for following his convictions, and pursuing a path that will bring him joy.
I tend to think when we talk about environmentalism, especially related to aviation, it’s pretty polarizing. On one end of the spectrum, you have a very small but vocal minority of people who believe aviation is evil, and basically all discretionary flying should be stopped. But on the other end of the spectrum, you have people who think it’s not an issue at all, claiming planes would fly anyway (even if we don’t fly), or even arguing that global warming isn’t manmade.
Personally I’m somewhere in the middle. I don’t think aviation can or should be stopped. That being said, I think the industry should keep trying to become more efficient, and I also think there are some great environmental initiatives out there to reduce our own impacts. While it doesn’t fully undo the damage, it helps.
Bottom line
A senior Air France captain has quit, after he could no longer handle the guilt of the environmental impact of his job. I’ve never heard of an airline pilot quitting for this reason, so that’s pretty noteworthy. Regardless of how others may feel about this topic, I think he deserves some credit for following his beliefs, even when it comes at a great personal cost.
What do you make of this former Air France captain quitting, to pursue a different path?
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