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An Air France captain announced his resignation recently over concerns of the environmental impact of commercial flying. In a social media post, he cites “eco-anxiety” as to why he is ending his 22-year career with the French carrier.
Anthony Viaux was flying with Air France for 22 years. He was a pilot on both Airbus A340 and A320 aircraft. He went on a two-year sabbatical and posted on LinkedIn this week that he is not returning to his job as captain at Air France. He expresses feelings of guilt around the impact of flying and shares further concern that aircraft production will double in the next 15 years.
The LinkedIn post was written in French. When translated, it reads in part:
A few days ago, I did the craziest thing of my life…I resigned from my position as captain at Air France!
I never thought I would write these words one day. And yet… It’s a page of more than 20 years of a dream and passion profession that is turning.
I had already taken a step back for 2 years (sabbatical leave), the only solution I had found to take stock and try to lighten a little the weight of the eco-anxiety that was gnawing at me.
There are obviously industries that are much more polluting than aviation (its impact is still estimated at 5% of global warming). As much as it would be absurd to accuse aeronautics of all evils, I think that we should not turn a blind eye either.
Some activities may consider decarbonizing quickly. However, I note that the aeronautical industry does not. The equation therefore currently seems insoluble to me, unless we reduce the number of flights, which is not at all the path we are heading towards.
Airbus also plans nothing less than a doubling of the number of aircraft in the world by 2041!
But where has the “post-COVID world”, supposed to be more lucid and more sober, been lost?
Because I realize more and more that the ecological emergency is now! You just have to turn on the TV to see it.
I loved this job so much… Connecting humans, wherever they are on the globe, in the sacred footsteps of Mermoz and Saint-Ex, nothing had more meaning in my eyes…
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.”
Anthony’s Take: I respect this man’s conviction, but am not sure this will make any impact in the grand scheme. People are flying more than ever and the trend does not seem like it will be shifting back. Climate change is real and the extreme weather that we have seen over the past few years is just the start. That said, industrial production has a far greater impact than the carbon from airplanes.
(Image Credits: Vincent Genevay and Anthony Viaux via LinkedIn.)
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2 comments
This person is mentally ill and should not be able to access the cockpit of a commercial aircraft.
Glad he is losing his flight certification. He is a danger in the cockpit.