#josh smith

[spiderliliez]

When you can’t handle compliments, YOU JUST MELT. EMMA D’ARCY & OLIVIA COOKE Interview by Josh Smith

[+] EMMA D’ARCY [GIF Collection] ✨ [+] COOKIE [GIF Collection] ✨ [+] ..more on “House of the Dragon” 🐉

[oldsardens]

Josh Smith - Untitled

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Missiles and Meal Service: The Hidden Toll of Flying in War-zones

Common occupational hazards in aviation; the not so new flight deck stressors would encompass turbulence, delayed pushbacks, and that one passanger having an issue with someone reclining their seat (this is so very common, believe me). Let’s not forget another one who thinks the seatbelt sign doesn’t apply to them while on active runway (because they are just itching for a snack they left inside their carry-on luggage in the overhead bin. Opens bin, then bag falls off on them and everyone around. SMH)

Back to business. Pilots and cabin crew flying over the Middle East lately, especially in and out of Qatar, well, there’s a new, less subtle source of anxiety: missile attacks. Who doesn’t know the news by now?

Yes, flying into Doha these days might involve dodging airspace closures, U.S. airbase targets, and the occasional Iranian and Israeli news. Glamorous, right?

Very.

While passengers worry about delayed in-flight meals and Wi-Fi speeds being too slow or disconnecting , the crew up front and in the aisles are dealing with something much much heavier: the psychological toll of flying through a region where geopolitics are very unpredictable, stormy, and always just over the horizon.

What Happened in Qatar Exactly, you ask?

In resent years, we’ve witnessed sensitive airspaces and in response, airlines have shut down their airspaces. Flights being rerouted faster than a teenager dodging chores have become commonplace, and airline dispatchers around the world had one collective panic attack.

Now just imagine this. Inflight, flight crew are prepping beverage carts while air defence systems light up the radar. Boom-Chaka-Boom! Just another day in the skies.

Cabin Pressure: Flying with a Side of Adrenaline

Yes, crew (deck crew and cabin crew) are trained to handle demarcates, but war is not an average Emmergency! It’s one thing to worry about fuel efficiency. It’s another to fly over a region where missiles are a real-time hazard.

There is a huge difference between trusting an aircraft, the team, and trusting geopolitics.

Constant anticipatory anxiety.

Hypervigilance, even on layovers.

The unsettling knowledge that their aircraft might share airspace with defense drones, military jets, and… well, more missiles.

Hospitality Meets Hostility

Cabin crew, as you know, are the face of calm, smile and all. Even so, smiling while you serve fish, beef and a gluten free meal on a flight skimming a conflict zone? That’s dark art right there.

Results:

Crew becoming emotionally disconnected from their jobs.

Guilt when evacuating people while others are left behind. 2020 clears throat!

Luxury inflight service inside a pressure cooker floating mid air at 40,000 feet while those on ground are ducking. Definately dystopian!

More Fuel, More Detours, More Fatigue

Yep! Practical stress:

Flights being rerouted to avoid hot zones, adding hours to duty time.

Longer flight hours mean more fatigue, which affects both performance and emotional bandwidth.

There’s no glamour-AT ALL in a 15 hour turnaround because there is no clearance to land.

What Airlines Are Maybe doing

Critical Incident Stress Management teams.

Therapy appointments.

Pre and post dispatch briefings.

Even so, lots of crews feel out of the loop. Why you ask?Because, you get the news that you’re flying a risky zone when you’re already on it.

Hidden Costs: Forget Fuel and Insurance

Mental Health RiskWhat It Looks LikePTSD or traumaFlashbacks, fawning, sleep interruptions, avoidanceBurnoutEmotional numbness, lack of purposeAnxietyReccuring worry, overanalysing proceduresIsolationFeeling detached and lack of support on layovers or at home

These risks don’t show up on a flight log, but hey, they impact safety, morale, and retention. We talk about maintaining aircraft fatigue limits. What about crew fatigue limits?

Where Do We Go From Here?

How about a Flight Plan for Mental Health in Conflict Zones:

Transparent Security Briefings.

Weight & balance before takeoff is paramount, so is mental health balance.

Flight Debriefs After High-Stress Flights.

Better Global Oversight, meaning ICAO, IATA and other relevant bodies must update protocols for mental wellness involving high-risk routes.

Bottom line, pilots and cabin crew are indeed professionals for they train, adapt, and make sure to get the job done. But, they are people too and not robots. People who fly into the world’s most dangerous zones with nothing more than a safety manual and nerves of steel.

We owe them patience, understanding, protection and genuine support as they navigate war zones with grit and grace.

Fly safe. Check on your crew friends, and just maybe skip the missile jokes during boarding.

Source: Missiles and Meal Service: The Hidden Toll of Flying in War-zones

[casualist-tendency]

[topcat77]

Josh Smith

[ireallydontcare5]

[granstromjulius]

Josh Smith

[orion-lake]

The promises were spoiled before they left your lips and...

[joeygallo]

my dogboy girlfriend

[jokeanddaggerdept]

[brokenpiecesshine]

Halestorm, November 2023.

📸 Anne-Marie Forker

[music-interpretation-review]

Weekly Music Review Poll

Sultans of Swing is quite possibly the most well-known song by Dire Straights, and is known for an "inescapable hook" and its breezy finger-picking style. The song's title was inspired by a Dixieland jazz band that played on the street corner in London, amusing Dire Straights's lead singer with their disheveled look that didn't match their name.

Contestant videos under the cut:

[citsune13]

Been having a hard time with art and finally really getting back into it. I did the expression meme by MagicalPouch and had my friends suggest characters.

Names below the cut

Left to right, top to bottom are-

Megamind, Drome (OC), Gabbie (OC), Rainbow Dash, Jazz Fenton, Mikey

Tret Clover, Pablo (OC), Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, Purple (AU), Yuri

Sydney (OC), Kierian (OC), Danny Phantom, Foxglove (OC), Megumi Fushiguro, Major Armstrong

Audrey, Telescope (OC), Susie Cambell (AKA. Alice Angel), Penny Polendina, Ruby Rose, Jax

Kierian (OC), Yang Xiao-Long, Trash (OC), Ochaco Uraraka, Josh (OC), Donnie (AU)

[oldsardens]

Josh Smith - Untitled

[casualist-tendency]

[topcat77]

Josh Smith

[ireallydontcare5]