Travel freedom advocacy group Free to Fly said the lifting of travel restrictions by the federal government is only one step in the right direction, but the fight is not yet over. .Co-founders Matt Sattler and Greg Hill, both pilots for major Canadian airlines, spoke with the Western Standard and shared their thoughts on the federal government suspending COVID-19 passport requirements for travellers. .Hill said the idea behind creating the Free to Fly group was to support all aviation professionals and travellers who lost access to travel due to their vaccination status..The group consists of 2,854 Canadian aviation professionals and 40,601 passengers with a "mission to make their voices heard in every legislature, court, and board room across Canada," said Free to Fly in a statement on its website. ."We've taken the approach ... sunlight is a disinfectant, awareness is key and essentially this means winning hearts and minds," said Sattler.."So, our main strategy going forward has been to use the credibility that many aviation professionals enjoy, especially pilots, and to essentially shift the narrative in a way that is conducive to the truth of the matter coming out.".Sattler said he and Hill are "still processing" what the lifting of restrictions means for them with regard to returning to their previous positions with their air carriers, but said they're grateful passengers are "welcome back in the air." ."From our point of view with the professionals, our fight, to some degree, is only just beginning," said Sattler. ."Our main initiative now is to a) make sure this never happens again, and b) seek redress for the damage that has been caused over the past year or so with these leaves of absence, the terminations and the things like that that have happened." ."We're going to be probably busier now than we were before, but that's only because we need to put one final nail in this coffin and make sure this doesn't happen again." .Hill said the "battle is long from over" and suggested "every Canadian needs to continue to battle until we live in a society that has no medical segregation.".Sattler said the federal government's use of the term "suspended" with reference to the travel mandates "is further evidence of the fact that this is a politicized situation" and argues he believes it has been from the beginning. .Calling it the "fog of war," Hill said there is still a great deal of uncertainty as to what returning to work will look like and said he's troubled by the "level of arrogance" the government has displayed while admitting they have "no regret for anything that's happened" ."And, [the government] went so far as to say in answering a question, 'absolutely these folks will be back out on unpaid leave should another variant pop up,'" said Hill. .Sattler said he will eagerly return to work as he needs to support his family, and flying airplanes "will always be a job that I love." ."I think the issue is that I'm now fully aware that a certain percentage of decision makers at the company where I work are willing to essentially disregard me as a simple business decision, and I guess this has always been the reality, but to see it play out in such a ... dramatic and impersonal kind of way...," said Sattler. .Hill said his outlook is different than that of Sattler as he is older. ."There have been things that have occurred, there have been acts that have been really personal and egregious from some of these companies towards their employees that some of our aviation professionals are having a hard time getting past," said Hill..The two said they will remain busy with Free to Fly to focus on ensuring the travel restrictions will never be brought back.
