The COVID-19 Pandemic, A Pilot In Switzerland 'changes Profession' To Become A Train Engineer

Illustration. (Celeb Woods / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the aviation industry worldwide. Thousands of planes had to be grounded, while the pilots and cabin crew were sent home.

Pilots and cabin crew were forced to change professions to make a living. In Switzerland, the idea of changing the pilot profession has been hotly discussed since the end of last year. The alternative is to become a train driver.

"It's like in a relationship, if the other party doesn't want anything from you, then you have to swallow your pride and move on (life)," said Carlos Spruengli, one of the first pilots to change professions to become a driver, as reported by Euronews.

Meanwhile, the Swiss Pilots Association (Aeropers) is supporting its members who wish to be reinstated, due to a shortage of train drivers in Switzerland. According to Aeropers, this could be an example for other countries.

"For us, it's only natural to work with companies on this kind of project. We hope this will inspire other countries in Europe," said Aeropers spokesman Thomas Steffen.

Trains in Zermatt Switzerland. (Victor He / Unsplash)

Lack of machinists

The high-speed rail network itself is predicted to experience a boom in Europe in the near future. Slowly, this rail network replaced flights, such as from London to Paris and Barcelona to Madrid.

Launching Simpleflying, last year Switzerland had a shortage of train drivers. Two local train operators, the Swiss Federal Railways (SSB) and the Rhetische Bahn (RhB), were forced to land a number of their train fleets due to a shortage of drivers. Every day they are short of 30 drivers for passenger and freight trains.

To fill this gap, pilots will receive 14-16 months of training and be hired immediately upon completion. The salary offered is decent. For the initial stage, starting from 6 thousand Swiss francs or about 6,580 US dollars per month, including a fixed salary.

To remember, the cost of living in Switzerland is quite expensive. Last September, the government raised the minimum wage to 23 Swiss francs or US $ 25 per hour.