A pilot who turned to real estate and pet sitting when he was made redundant in the pandemic is finally back in the cockpit, after being grounded for 18 months.
Abu Dhabi resident Maurits Robert van Gelder, 31, said he was two days away from not being able to pay his rent when he received an email from his former employer offering the opportunity to go back to flying.
The Dutch citizen is one of 500 staff rehired by Etihad Airways — including 95 pilots — who were made redundant after the pandemic began in early 2020.
Despite having tried to forge a new career as an estate agent, personal trainer and pet sitter to make ends meet, Mr van Gelder said he always believed he would wear his pilot's epaulettes again.
When I got back in the cockpit I felt this instant comfort. It’s like putting on your favourite suit
Maurits van Gelder,
senior first officer
“The only reason I stayed in Abu Dhabi after the redundancy was because I had full faith I would work with Etihad again,” he said.
“I first got the email about the redundancy in July of 2020 and my first official flight since being rehired was on February 24.
“When I got back in the cockpit, I felt this instant comfort. It’s like putting on your favourite suit.
“The timing was quite perfect too because my motivation for doing anything else but flying had started dropping.
“I tried to make a living doing real estate and personal training but towards the end it was difficult to make enough money to stick around in Abu Dhabi.”
Mr van Gelder said aviation has always been a big part of his life, as his father worked as a pilot and his mother as a cabin crew manager,
During those 18 months being away from the skies, the senior first officer applied for more than 20 jobs with airlines.
“The biggest problem was that there was such an overload of applicants,” he said.
“There were so many pilots available on the market but there was such low demand for them because of the whole pandemic.
“A lot of companies were not in the position to hire and those that were tended to hire pilots with close ties to the company.
"It was demoralising but I never gave up hope.”
Last November, Mr van Gelder received an email from Etihad asking if he would be interested in rejoining the company. He said he was just days away from packing up his things and moving back home.
“I think I responded to the email in about two seconds saying, ‘yes, yes, yes’,” he said.
“I sent it several times just to make sure it was at the top of their inbox.
“As things progressed, I was told there were spots available to fly cargo in January of this year, or I could wait and go back to mainline passenger flying but they didn’t have a date on when that would be.
“I instantly replied back saying I'd love to join on cargo because I just needed to be airborne again.”
After previously flying passengers on the Boeing 777-300 to places such as the US, South Africa, Australia and East Asia, he has been rehired as a cargo pilot flying the same aircraft.
To date, he has travelled to several destinations, including Germany, Hong Kong and Kenya.
Etihad looking to boost staff numbers
Like many airlines, Etihad was forced to make staff cutbacks during the pandemic as the travel industry took a huge hit.
“Etihad Airways has rehired close to 500 staff through its alumni programme so far, 95 of whom have been pilots," the airline said in a statement.
With travel demand now on the up again, the airline has been in the process of hiring 1,000 employees — from cabin crew to ground staff — over the past three months.
In an interview with The National, Tony Douglas, chief executive of Etihad Aviation Group, said the airline expects to deliver impressive results in the first half of this year on higher load factors, strong passenger yields, solid cargo business and lower costs.
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh810,000
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
The low down on MPS
What is myofascial pain syndrome?
Myofascial pain syndrome refers to pain and inflammation in the body’s soft tissue. MPS is a chronic condition that affects the fascia (connective tissue that covers the muscles, which develops knots, also known as trigger points).
What are trigger points?
Trigger points are irritable knots in the soft tissue that covers muscle tissue. Through injury or overuse, muscle fibres contract as a reactive and protective measure, creating tension in the form of hard and, palpable nodules. Overuse and sustained posture are the main culprits in developing trigger points.
What is myofascial or trigger-point release?
Releasing these nodules requires a hands-on technique that involves applying gentle sustained pressure to release muscular shortness and tightness. This eliminates restrictions in connective tissue in orderto restore motion and alleviate pain. Therapy balls have proven effective at causing enough commotion in the tissue, prompting the release of these hard knots.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
Fight card
1. Featherweight 66kg: Ben Lucas (AUS) v Ibrahim Kendil (EGY)
2. Lightweight 70kg: Mohammed Kareem Aljnan (SYR) v Alphonse Besala (CMR)
3. Welterweight 77kg:Marcos Costa (BRA) v Abdelhakim Wahid (MAR)
4. Lightweight 70kg: Omar Ramadan (EGY) v Abdimitalipov Atabek (KGZ)
5. Featherweight 66kg: Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Kagimu Kigga (UGA)
6. Catchweight 85kg: Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) v Iuri Fraga (BRA)
7. Featherweight 66kg: Yousef Al Husani (UAE) v Mohamed Allam (EGY)
8. Catchweight 73kg: Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Ahmed Abdelraouf of Egypt (EGY)
9. Featherweight 66kg: Jaures Dea (CMR) v Andre Pinheiro (BRA)
10. Catchweight 90kg: Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
