Remaining connected during these uncertain times

The RAeS Melbourne Branch Committee shares the community’s concerns about COVID-19 and particularly its devastating impact on the aviation industry. The current situation is without precedent and the consequential effect of COVID-19 on the lives of many of our aviation colleagues and their families is increasing. Since our last update this has been realised close to home with redundancies and long term stand-down for many staff at Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin and Tiger as well as the many impacted suppliers and associated companies.

What we're doing

The Melbourne Branch Committee and wider Royal Aeronautical Society leadership continues to meet regularly by teleconference . The Branch has hosted several lectures via Zoom, also streamed on Facebook, with members provided with priority access to the Q&A session. Members are also invited to take advantage of virtual access to other branch events. Please check the 'Events' page on the website for upcoming events.

Looking ahead

One of the great things about the aviation industry is the interest shared by all who are involved in every sector of our industry. At difficult times like these it is very important the we maintain our sense of unity, identity and common purpose. We hope the branch events and community facilitate this.

While the current situation may be novel to the aviation industry, one certainty to which we can all look forward is that there will continue to be an aviation industry in the future, even though it is unlikely to be quite the same.  Innovation always helps society out of adversity and we shall see that happen again over the coming months.

How you can help

We hope that you have seen and enjoyed our ‘Member Stories’ articles, more of which are in pipeline. The experiences of our members show how much ingenuity and perseverance there is in our community to overcome even the unprecedented challenges we are currently facing.

We are still looking for member contributions that we can post to our social media channels. We welcome all contributions long and short.
 

These can include:

• Unique memories and stories from your time in aviation

• Opportunities that could be of interest to those in the industry who have recently been stood down

• Messages of encouragement

 And if you have some suggestions as to how the Melbourne Branch may be able to help support the RAeS membership, and the broader aviation community, as we all cope with the impact of COVID-19, the Melbourne Branch committee will welcome your thoughts and ideas.

Please send us your input by sending us an email or contacting us via our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.