Grounding Patterns

If you’re an aviation enthusiast like me, or maybe just because you’ve read the news of late, you may have seen the photos floating around the interweb showing the thousands of grounded aircraft around the world. As airlines globally are forced to ground their entire fleets, hundreds of aircraft are left with nowhere to go. Planes aren’t made to live on the ground. The sky is their home, and aircraft only make fleeting, essential visits to the ground when necessary - you know, to refuel, drop off some passengers, pick up some more - that sort of thing. Sort of like the fleeting visits we make to public bathrooms - necessary, but we don’t linger.

So as international borders close and the travel industry dries up due to Covid-19, thousands of aircraft around the world have to make their way back down to the ground and find temporary homes. They’re being parked up on whatever tarmac is free - at airport gates, on runways - hell, I’m sure your back yard would come in handy if it’s free. 

For those of us in the aviation industry, we know that these images are an airline’s worst nightmare. It’s not as simple as just parking the aircraft at the gate and in 6 months when you’re ready to use them again, you press the start key and off it flies into the sky. These things need maintenance. They don’t like moisture, and they don’t like sitting idle for too long. Think of it like your Grandad’s old McLaren which really would prefer to be stored inside a nice cosy garage than outside in the rain - a treasure which needs to be turned on every so often to make sure the ignition works, and that the wires haven’t been chewed to bits by mice. An aircraft is no different. 

These pictures are a nightmare not only because they’re draining millions of dollars for the work that is required, but also that they’re putting the people who operate them out of a job, and the passengers they carry unable to get to their destinations. Some of them may never fly again, as airlines have to downscale their fleet, or face going under altogether. These pictures really do tell 1000 pretty depressing words.

But in all this sadness, there is something disconcertingly beautiful about these photographs of thousands of grounded aircraft. I’m obsessed with pattern. And order. And repetition. So maybe that’s why I can’t stop looking at them. Perhaps it’s the underlying skill of the tug drivers who towed the aircraft into such perfect position - as though it was all for show. 

The fact I love these images has made me wonder over the past few days - I a bad human for thinking they’re beautiful?! Certainly this isn’t ok…?! However after a lot of pondering and self reflection, I’ve come to the conclusion that it is ok to find beauty in sadness, in chaos, or in confusion. By appreciating the glimmer of goodness that I’m drawn to doesn’t mean that I’m disregarding the less positive aspects of a situation. It just means that I’ve reframed my mind.

I think that’s what this whole testing time of Covid-19 is all about. There is destruction and chaos all around us. Our lives have been turned upside down, and the modern day as we know it has been put on hold for awhile. But in all this madness and time of self-isolation, it is ok to put that to one side for a while and still appreciate the good in the world. The people doing good deeds. The supermarket workers giving their all. The sunsets. The patterns. The beauty. 

I’m taking solace in the fact that beauty is everywhere. Every rose has its thorns and by appreciating the small glimmers of beauty and order I find everyday, it’s going to be a whole lot easier to get through this historical moment in time. 

I hope you can too.

K x 

Photos found on the Sam Chui blog by Reuters and a Delta pilot