\n<\/p>\n
Watching the Red Arrows jet across the sky as a young boy, Todd Smith knew that flying was what he wanted to do when he was older.<\/b><\/p>\n
After five years’ training, costing \u00a3100,000, followed by two years working as a flying instructor, he finally landed his dream job in his late twenties – working as an airline pilot.<\/p>\n
But in 2019, the travel firm he was working for – Thomas Cook – collapsed.<\/p>\n
By this time Mr Smith had become increasingly concerned about the growing threat of climate change, and the aviation sector’s carbon emissions.<\/p>\n
“I started connecting the dots, and was met with an uncomfortable conflict,” he says.<\/p>\n
“I wanted to get involved in [environmental protest group] Extinction Rebellion, but knew it would be career suicide, and I had a lot of debt. It would be easier to return to the industry and pay off the debt.”<\/p>\n
Yet with the pandemic grounding aircraft, Mr Smith, who lives in the Berkshire town of Reading, decided to quit his high-flying career for good.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n