Born to fly

Aircraft are not designed to stand still — and neither are pilots.

As Brussels Airlines got ready to restart flight operations after 12 weeks of hibernation, it documented the behind the scenes process involved in getting its fleet out of parking mode and ready for takeoff.

Under normal circumstances, a commercial pilot who flies on a regular basis goes through a strict training regime every six months, to keep up with procedures. Since pilots have been grounded for three months and don’t meet the mandatory “three landings in 90 days” standard, the airline had to retrain staff.

A simulator test, as well as a theoretical exam and Crew Resource Management training helped get pilots ready for the airline’s relaunch on June 15.

Meanwhile, cabin crew colleagues get a refresher course and were trained to apply the new procedures and measures that have been put in place by the airline.

And getting their birds ready for takeoff? Unpacking an aircraft and making it airworthy again took about 200 man hours from testing all computer systems, getting the cabin ready, to unwrapping the landing gear and engines.

Photos and videos courtesy: Brussels Airlines.