Safety within professional aviation has vastly improved over the past several decades. This is due in large part to a “Just Safety” culture founded upon open communication and self- disclosure of errors or negative safety trends. This requires active participation from all flight crew to be effective.

Pilots are trained to be careful analysts of their environment, recognizing risks and actively mitigating. For many, their training and differential risk analysis led to concerns and negative conclusions regarding the compatibility of COVID-19 vaccination with health and flight safety. Not only did many pilots disagree with arbitrary requirements embodied in vaccination mandates, but they also saw risks in the unanswered questions and unjustified speed and pressure behind the vaccine rollouts. They lobbied their airlines and politicians, recommending caution and opposing mandates.