Pilot with ‘airsickness’ was unfairly dismissed
AN EXPERIENCED Birmingham Airport pilot was grounded by Flybe after he suffered airsickness and anxiety attacks.
But an employment tribunal has ruled that Matthew Guest was unfairly dismissed and should be given his job back. He had been offered a groundbased role at Exeter, but refused.
Flybe had not taken into account medical evidence from three sources that supported Mr Guest’s claims that he was fit to fly, the court ruled.
And the prime decision-maker had not met with Mr Guest.
Judge Tony Coughlin stated: “It is a basic principle of natural justice and of fairness that an employee should have the chance to address the relevant decision-maker.”
The Birmingham hearing was told that the father-of-two was “de-planed” shortly before a flight to Salzburg in July, 2015. On that occasion, Mr Guest suffered what he described as an “anxiety attack” and “panic attack”.
There had been an incident five months earlier when Mr Guest was due to fly to Keflavik, Iceland. He felt anxious and told his captain he was not wellenough for the journey.
The tribunal heard the pilot, who started work in 2007, spent his first seven years flying a Dash-8 Q400 turboprop airliner and performed well.
It was when he was promoted to man an Embraer craft – used for longer flights – alongside a captain in 2014 that illhealth set-in. The tribunal heard: In December 2014, Mr Guest felt sick and dizzy during a flight to Florence. He “felt anxious to be on the plane, hot, dizzy, churning stomach”. He likened the sensation to airsickness.
Eleven days later, while driving to Birmingham Airport, he was gripped by a feeling of impending doom and “a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach”. On that occasion, he called in sick.
The pilot, father to two young children, admitted there were pressures at home. Mr Guest returned to the job in April. Again, feelings of sickness and anxiety gradually resurfaced, culminating in his “anxiety attack” before the Salzburg flight.
He was signed off by his GP on July 27 and received hypnotherapy, CBT session, acupuncture and was prescribed the anti-depressant Sertraline.
After undergoing a stringent test and attending meetings, Mr Guest returned to work in April, 2016. At first all was well, with Mr Guest writing after a June 2 flight : “Fine. Elated when I got home, ‘I’m cured!’ ”
But he later admitted feeling anxious again and called in sick before a fourhour flight to Kefalonia, Greece.
On July, 2016, Mr Guest’s medical certificate was suspended due to “anxiety related to flying”.
He wanted to return to the cockpit of the smaller Dash planes – a move backed by a medical report.
Flybe said the transfer would mean retraining him at a cost of £13,500 but that there were no vacancies at the airport.
A Flybe meeting later decided Mr Guest would never return to pilot duties, the tribunal heard.
That was despite an expert stating that Mr Guest had shown good progress during therapy and would be fit to return to work in January 2017.
At a meeting with bosses, Mr Guest pointed out that he had been given the medical all-clear and was fit to fly.
But in a later email, Flybe group oper- ating officer Luke Farajallah stated: “The position hasn’t changed other than to say that, whilst Matt is not going to fly again, he can be offered a ground-based role if there is one. The issue for me is that if there is a mere suggestion his condition could return, which there is, we aren’t in the business of taking risks in the flight deck and with people’s lives.”
Mr Guest’s appeal over the decision was dismissed by the company.
Judge Coghlin ruled: “At the time when the decision was made in October 2016, and when Mr Farajallah reaffirmed it in his email on January 22, 2017, Mr Farajallah had never met the claimant, and the claimant had had no opportunity to speak to him or to address his concerns or to influence his thinking.
“It is a basic principle of natural justice and of fairness that an employee should have the chance to address the relevant decision-maker.
“Here, the claimant had no such opportunity. He was not told of Mr Farajallah’s involvement at all.”
Mr Guest is now waiting to see if Flybe will offer him his job back.