BA Pilots are threatening to strike; quite rightly in my opinion, due to a massive shortfall in pensions.
If and when they do so, the ordinary public will most likely not support them as any strike will inconvenience them (same as any strikes really, people get antsy if they are inconvenienced but would not hestitate to do the same if the positions are reversed).
My point is this - if the media continue to try to whip up scaremongering with non news items, then people are going to start wondering what pilots do for what is, in general, an extremely good wage.
If the BA pilots were to strike, crass reporting like this will not help their cause when Jo Public starts to get led down the path into believing that a pilot actually having to manually fly an aircraft is an emergency.
Jo Public in his ignorance will start to ask why do pilots get paid so much?
The news article may not have actually mentioned that it was an emergency, but the reporting certainly alluded to it.
As an ATCO I know very well how igonorant the public are with all matter aviation, these so called 'news' papers/comics do not help.
I'm just off to work now..... now where did I put my white overalls and table tennis bats??
