While airlines have strict codes about air crew's dress codes and behavior while on duty, pilots and flight attendants can also run into trouble with what they post on their social media accounts.
After a surprise attack from fundamentalist group Hamas left more than 1,000 people in Israel dead and pushed the country's Cabinet to declare a state of war and launch a counterattack in the territory of Gaza, Canada's flagship airline suspended a pilot who posted support for Palestinians and told Israel to "burn in hell."
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An Air Canada (ACDVF) -) flying a Boeing 787 Dreamliner (BA) -) from a Montreal base, Mostafa Ezzo posted several photos of him wearing the colors of the Palestinian flag over his uniform on his Instagram account with captions such as "F*** you Israel, burn in hell.".
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'We are aware of unacceptable posts,' Air Canada says
Other photos, which were first seen and shared by the nonprofit group StopAntisemitism on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, also show Ezzo at a march holding up a sign reading "Hitler would be proud of you" and another one saying "Keep the world clean" alongside a graphic of an Israeli flag being thrown into a garbage can.
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After the photos started gaining traction online, Air Canada released a message saying that Ezzo was "taken out of service" as of Oct. 9. It is unclear whether he has been terminated or is on leave pending an investigation.
"We are aware of the unacceptable posts made by an Air Canada pilot," the airline posted on X. "We are taking this matter very seriously, and he was taken out of service on Mon, Oct. 9. We firmly denounce violence in all forms."
After the news went viral, Ezzo scrubbed and deleted his Instagram and LinkedIn accounts. Air Line Pilots Association, a union representing the 5,000 pilots who work for Air Canada, stood by the decision and said that it "condemns all violence and hatred, and any promotion thereof."
"It is our firm expectation that all of our members abide by this principle and our professional code of ethics," Air Line Pilots Association said in a statement to Canadian media outlets.
The airline industry is seriously short on pilots; here's why that's a big problem
The violent nature of the posts was what pushed Air Canada to take a firm stance. In general, airlines are slow to let go of any pilots who have done anything but commit egregious violations of professional ethics given the difficulties in securing them.
Between the more than $100,000 in training costs it takes to become one and mandatory retirement age of 65 relative to an average salary of $134,000, North American airlines are currently at least 12,000 pilots short and struggling to recruit new ones fast enough to meet skyrocketing demand for travel post-pandemic.
"We believe the industry capacity aspirations for 2023 and beyond are simply unachievable," United (UAL) -) CEO Scott Kirby said during a January earnings call. "That means the system simply can't handle the volume today, much less the anticipated growth. Like it or not, that’s just the new reality and the new math for all airlines."
