You asked? Our pilot answers.

Is it true that pilots cannot eat the same meal?

It’s not mandatory, but it’s recommended that the Captain and the First Officer are served different meals to avoid that, in case of food poisoning, both are affected. The same applies to the rest of the crew, offering variety in meals and thus avoiding the risk of widespread indisposition.

What can you tell me to help me relax on board an airplane?

We can say that safety is the priority on an airplane and that this is not a myth.

Air transport is a sector subject to very strict control, to international standardized regulation for all airlines and to a constant audit process that extends to all operational areas. Nothing is random and redundancy in the procedures is an imposition of the sector. Last, but not least, the job of a commercial pilot is extremely demanding, as it is subject to constant competence screening throughout the entire career.

Did you know that, every six months, pilots are subjected to training and simulation sessions, the so-called “simulator” in slang, in which the Pilot and the First Officer are placed in a kind of capsule supported by hydraulic cables, in everything similar with the interior of the cockpit, where they are literally put to the test by simulating various emergency scenarios, during which knowledge, reaction, stress management, expertise and teamwork are tested? In addition to this knowledge and skill test, pilots are subject to periodic medical tests. Failure of one or the other may result in the loss of the license to fly. How many jobs do you know require tests of this nature and medical examinations so recurrently? Few or none, possibly.

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