Items
Subject is exactly
Aviation
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2020-03-07
End of my exchange - HIST30060
HIST30060 I was on exchange in Edinburgh when Covid broke out. My fellow Australian friends were very unsure of what decision to take in reaction to the outbreak. Most if not all of us underestimated the magnitude of the pandemic and thought that life would go on, albeit with news broadcasts talking more about Coronavirus than Brexit. Most of us hoped we could "ride it out" in Scotland and still have the holidays we had planned. There was some discussion of renting an apartment and living their together, though this was mostly just talk. Eventually, some of our Austrian friends decided to go home because they worried the borer would close and they would not be able to get back into Austria. This brought home the severity of the pandemic, and everyone was rather glum for a time. However, beer is a wonderful thing. Our Austrian friends left, and us Australians started to have serious thoughts about going home but no one wanted to be the first to say they would go because they feared this would be the straw that broke the Camel's back and their departure would precipitate our decisions to return home. I decided I would go home if one of three conditions was met, Australia announced they were going to close the border, everything in Edinburgh shut due to lockdown, or classes and student events ceased to run. Soon most student societies, of their own accord, elected to cease in-person events without official prohibition. Australia also announced a 14-day quarantine for new arrivals. Two friends said they had decided to return home, I called my mum, we both agreed there was no sensible reason for staying in Edinburgh no matter how much I might wish to stay. I thought I would leave within a week because there was much admin to be done, but the threat of their being no more flights into Australia meant my departure date became as soon as a flight could be found. One the day I went to fly home, my flight from Edinburgh to Munich was cancelled and I had to train from Edinburgh to Manchester and from there begin my airborne journey back home. Manchester Airport was the grimmest wait for boarding in my life. When I arrived in Munich nothing in the airport was open. My next flight was to Tokyo. Everything in the airport was open. I got Sushi whilst I waited. I got a lot, I was flush in the funds with 4 months worth of holiday money was no longer going to spend. I then flew to Sydney. And after that to Melbourne. Mum picked me up, drove me home and I got to see my Dog for the first time in three and a half months. This sort of but didn't quite make up for my exchange ending early. The 14 days in quarantine sucked. The documents I have attached consists of all the emails I received from the University of Melbourne regarding Coronavirus and students currently on exchange. I have submitted them because they document the way in which Covid has most effected my 2020. Fortunately, I have not suffered as have others. The phenomena of students being on exchange when a pandemic breaks out, seems one which is unlikely to have occurred before, let alone on such a grand scale. I have also attached a screenshot documenting a Twitter exchange with Melbourne uni addressing the fact that their international number was not working. -
2020-03-13
The First Bomb Dropped
I was on exchange in Edinburgh in the first half of 2020, and was forced to return home early because of COVID-19. These messages show 3 of my friends announcing in a Facebook group chat that they were heading home to Austria, which came as a huge surprise to the rest of us in the group. This was a sad, confusing, disorienting moment, which these messages demonstrate. HIST30060 -
2020
'Grounded' Podcast Series - Australian Aviation and Covid-19
‘Grounded’ is a series of podcast interviews (created in the first three months of the pandemic) with aviation industry participants regarding the impacts and issues that the Covid-19 pandemic creates for the General Aviation industry in Australia. This is important because General Aviation is often forgotten about in the discourse. What is generally talked about in the media is the AIRLINES - not the small, family run General Aviation businesses and pilots). In these podcasts, I interview the smaller players in the industry - a small tourist charter operation manager, an airshow organiser, a flight school operator, the chairman of Recreational Aviation Australia, a light aircraft manufacturer, a maintenance facility operator, and even the editor of a general aviation aircraft trading magazine. All interview participants of the podcasts provide significant personal insights into the impacts of Covid-19 on their industry that are not generally part of mainstream media discussion. I have submitted this artefact as it provides a unique insight into the lesser-known parts of the aviation industry in those first three months of the pandemic. -
2020-04-24
Humans of Covid-19 AU: Taliah Bulesic
“I’ve wanted to be a flight attendant since I was a little girl. I have now been a flight attendant at Virgin for 8 years. At first, we were all a bit naive with the severity of the virus in Australia. Once borders started shutting, that’s when I realised this is it for aviation travel. That was a bit scary, especially as Crew, because we are mixing with many different people everyday. Of-course we’re worried for our jobs, and it is scary to realise that aviation wont go back to normal for a really long time. The fear of flying and spreading the virus will be around for a while. I did not anticipate Virgin’s administration, I was hopeful that someone would help. I understand why the Government said no to a bail out. They are doing what they can, but it was disappointing from a staff perspective to not see help come through. The culture at Virgin is something I've never experienced before. It is different from other airlines. We’ve all come together and really supported each other, which has helped with the mental health of many staff. Everyone is very optimistic, and our CEO is confident we will be able to get out of this. There’s a real never giving up attitude. I never thought I would live to see something like this. You have days when you get upset, ‘a selfish moment’, when you think about your life and how it has changed. But I try to educate myself about what else is going on around the world, and it makes me appreciate where we are. I love flying, but I've stuck it out for 8 years because of who I work for. I think it would be a huge culture shock moving airlines, and it won’t happen anytime soon. But who knows, maybe one day - aviation is in your blood.” Instagram post on Taliah Bulesic, flight attendant, and her experience during the pandemic, which was created by a psychology student living in Melbourne who was interested to hear about how COVID-19 was impacting on different peoples’ lives.