Grounded but FLYING HIGH

There was an unlikely royal repayment for how much Emma Henderson, 51, did for NHS workers during their toughest challenge

- RACHEL TOMPKINS

I have had a few pinch-me moments in my life, but landing my dream job as an airline pilot in 2009 topped the list. I’d had my first flying lesson aged 18 and juggled flight training with life as a military wife, raising three young children, to get to that point. Then I became a captain in November 2015. Every time I flew a multimillion-pound passenger jet across Europe as one of fewer than 500 female airline captains in the world, I felt a huge sense of pride. I flew celebrities and royalty as well as the most precious passengers – my own children – watching sunrises and sunsets from the best seat on the plane. But it all came to an abrupt halt when the COVID-19 pandemic grounded flights in March 2020. Being furloughed left me feeling hollow.

My husband James, then 51, was working from home for his job in the Royal Air Force and our daughters, Sophie, 21, and Megan, 19, were at home. One on a gap year and the other was supposed to be at university, while our son, Thomas, then 22, was living in Lewisham with his girlfriend. As talk of tough challenges ahead for the NHS spread, I knew our overworked and undersupported doctors and nurses on the frontline needed safe spaces to decompress and unwind. I rallied grounded airline staff to help provide tea and empathy. All we needed from the NHS was a room big enough to socially distance while offering tea, a biscuit, and a friendly face. A psychologist would call it distraction therapy, but to us it was a small way of helping those who were saving lives in the toughest conditions.