Filip Palmgren had wanted to work on planes since he was a child. Now, after just two years as a flight attendant, the 21-year old has lost his job because of the coronavirus crisis and will be soon heading to work in a hospital instead to help save patients. He is part of a first group of 30 laid-off employees of Scandinavian Airlines who have started training this week to learn basic skills to assist in nursing homes and hospitals currently overwhelmed by a surging number of patients and ill medical staff.
Scandinavian Airlines, known also as SAS, announced in mid-March the temporary layoff of up to 10,000 employees, 90% of its workforce amid a drop in demand for international travel as governments clamped down on public events to contain the virus outbreak. With the help of a foundation, it is one of several airlines offering former staff the chance to work on the front line of the pandemic.
Palmgren says he signed up out of civic duty when he got the offer from his former employer.
“I immediately replied to the email,” he said. “I felt this was a very huge opportunity for me to help and to contribute to society and help the healthcare, which I think is very important in these times.”
In the U.K., budget carrier easyJet and Virgin Atlantic have asked their laid-off staff to do the same, with the support of the British government.
Many airlines are laying off staff at a dizzying pace. Some are putting employees on temporary leave, in which they are paid with the help of government aid, or shorter hours.
The trend is less pronounced in the US, where passenger airlines are receiving US $50 billion in government aid conditioned on the promise not to cut jobs for the next six months.
Airline cabin crew are considered goods candidates to work in hospitals because they are required to complete medical training to serve onboard flights in case of an emergency. They are also trained in how to handle difficult interpersonal situations, such as unruly passengers on flights, that can help in stressful work places like hospitals.
The program in Sweden is a joint initiative between the Sofiahemmet medical institution in Stockholm, the Novare recruitment firm and the Wallenberg Foundation which is providing financing of around $700,000.
Swedish authorities have advised the public to practice social distancing, but still allow a large amount of personal freedom unlike most other European countries.
Stockholm mayor Anna Konig Jerlmyr does not want to take chances and says that retrained airlines staff can relieve pressure on healthcare provided, freeing up nurses and nursing assistants from non-medical tasks.
“It is a way of optimizing our resources at a moment where the nurses are giving treatment and health care to the elderly and the students coming in to give assistance,” she said.