“The real stories in the aviation sector come from whistle blowers, who can be corporate employees, airline crew, air traffic controllers, aircraft maintenance engineers, or passengers”
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Though I began covering aviation in 2014, I used to write about the sector alongside issues of women and child rights. It was difficult to explain to people why I wrote on such different sectors. While I wrote on aviation simply because there was a vacancy in the organisation where I worked, I had a natural interest in human rights issues. I would often joke about how the two beats satisfied different interests — while aviation captivated me with its glamour, human rights stories drew me in for the potential they had in making an impact on people’s lives.
Over the last three years, I have been nearly exclusively focused on aviation. I have realised that it isn’t as glamorous as it seemed. I often find myself venting over a drink to senior business editors in the industry on the challenges of reporting amid intense corporate pressures. These included, until recently, included a long boycott by an airline.
The two beats are like chalk and cheese. While covering policy decisions on women and child rights, I often came in contact with NGOs, activists, academics, researchers, and lawyers who had dedicated their lives to social causes. Monetary interests were not on their mind; they were committed to a larger cause. I also found that this sector is dominated by women who show a lot of spine.
The same cannot be said of those working in the male-dominated corporate sector. In aviation and corporate affairs, self-preservation and the public image of the business house reign supreme. Some go to any extent — whether it is by using money power, intimidation tactics, or the age-old tactic of boycotts — to target journalists or even buy them out. Access is often granted to pliant journalists in lieu of their silence, and stories are selectively leaked in order to further the corporate agenda.
The real stories in this sector come from whistle blowers, who can be corporate employees, airline crew, air traffic controllers, aircraft maintenance engineers, or passengers. This is because there is no industry body to represent the real concerns of the people, whether of the staff or the travelling public, and to fix a compromised system where safety is at stake. While trade unions, though far and few between, contribute in their own ways, PR firms, which are hired to manage reputations of business houses, often use all their power and energies to exert pressure and have stories killed.
However, not all everything is dark and gloomy. Sources who are deeply committed towards bringing about meaningful change find ways to connect with reporters despite threats to their livelihood. They talk bravely about issues such as airline safety and pilot fatigue. Some of these accounts have even helped highlight mishaps that have gone unreported to government bodies.
Occasionally, corporate leaders also recognise a reporter’s work. Even amid intense scrutiny during a major crisis at their company, some corporate leaders distinguish themselves. An airline CEO, whose company faced extensive coverage in our paper during a turbulent period, exemplified this. He would constantly engage with me and answer all my questions with utmost respect. During one memorable exchange, he noted, “While we may have differences of opinion over the event, your championing of causes is commendable.” The admiration, naturally, is mutual.
Last week, a London-bound Air India flight crashed in Ahmedabad soon after take-off. More than 270 people died in the tragedy. In the rare event of such an incident, some people also begin to understand why journalists pose tough questions to the industry and why such questions are not just important but essential. That acknowledgment can be uplifting and is finally what keeps a reporter going.
Published – June 20, 2025 12:15 am IST