\n<\/p>\n
But six weeks into his new job, coronavirus wreaked havoc on the aviation industry, with entire fleets of planes grounded by the lockdowns.<\/p>\n
“Before we knew it, I was made redundant for a second time,” says Mr Bailey. “But this time it was obviously more serious because there were no other jobs available.<\/p>\n
“We had to return to the UK, but we had nowhere to go. It was a stressful situation.”<\/p>\n
Mr Bailey was let go by Emirates in May last year. He and his wife had to find their daughter a secondary school back in the UK, and then look for a house nearby.<\/p>\n
“We bought a house over the phone from Dubai – we had no other options. We flew back to the UK, and put stuff back in a shipping container in Dubai,” he says.<\/p>\n
Mr Bailey applied for jobs as a warehouse operative and delivery driver, but didn’t hear back from any of the companies.<\/p>\n
He suggests that it is difficult for a former pilot to get on the bottom rung of the ladder in a different industry, as employers think he or she is overqualified. And he adds that it is equally tough to get a job higher up the ladder because firms are wary that pilots are not interested in doing the job long term.<\/p>\n
However, Mr Bailey, who now lives in Lancashire, did finally manage to find new employment. In October he got a job at a Covid-19 testing site run by security company G4S. Just one month later he was promoted to become a manager at the firm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n