An ex commercial airline pilot who has been making ends meet as a handyman and delivery driver during the pandemic has gone viral after sharing a post comparing his uniforms.
The Boeing 737 First Officer Patrick Pawelczak shared his story in a LinkedIn post, hitting more than 15 million views in a matter of days.
The dad, from Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, Spain, said he was inspired to share his experience after a fellow pilot did the same, revealing he is now working in Tesco.
His post describes how 12 months ago he was "complaining about the night flights and that I only flew 700 hours that year" - by now his work life is a world away.
Mr Pawelczak worked for Slovakian airline Go2Sky until the coronavirus decimated the industry, forcing him to re-think providing for his family, including a young daughter.
"I wanted to share my own experience of working construction and delivering for Amazon to show that we are all carrying on while we are not able to fly," he told AeroTime.
Following the completion of an assignment in Turkey involving six flights, he returned to Barcelona as the industry was grinding to a halt.
He told the publication how - despite an uncertain future - he was "so relieved to be home" and able to speak to his daughter in person and not on FaceTime.
"Maybe this was meant to be and I am meant to be here with my family during this time, supporting my wife and being there as my daughter grows.
"I believe that everything happens for a reason so, although this is a tough time, maybe this was meant to be."
Mr Pawelczak explained he quickly found himself in a rut and sitting at home watching TV as tempers flared, admitting: "I didn't know what to do."
But quickly putting his pride to one side, he went "from flying people for their holidays through delivering Amazon to construction work", he wrote on LinkedIn.
Despite having never done any building work, he said he picked it up quite quickly.
"I will keep doing whatever I need to do until I can start flying again and I am already looking forward to that day," he added.
Having gained his commercial wings in 2016, Mr Pawelczak initially remained at his flying school and became the chief ground instructor.
He then went on to amass 1300 flying hours on the 737 with Go2Sky.
The pilot had stumbled into his career after originally getting a job in cabin crew and realising his passion for flying.
