Support

Peer support pulls someone out of the river. It rarely asks why they fell in, or teaches them to swim before they do. We think about support at both ends. The help someone needs right now, and the conditions that put them in the water in the first place.

Within the individual

We call ours Press to Talk. Named after the button on every microphone an aviation professional ever uses, whether it's in a cockpit, a headset, a handheld mic or a walkie-talkie. It's not an emergency service. It's an extension of colleagues who understand, because they've done the job themselves.

There's a comfort in talking to someone who's lived the same shift patterns, the same pressure, the same job. Something a psychologist, or even family, however well-meaning, often can't fully replicate. Our peers are trained in active listening, compassionate communication, assertive and non-violent communication, and meditation. It's confidential, free of cost, and open to anyone in aviation. Not only pilots and air traffic controllers, who need it most given the nature of the job, but everyone working circadian shifts, long hours, passenger-facing stress and disrupted sleep. You can choose to speak to a peer, or directly to one of our psychologists.

There's no threshold you need to cross before you're allowed to reach out, and no consequence to doing so. It doesn't have to be a crisis. It could be a difficult flight. Simulator stress. An upgrade or promotion weighing on you. Something at home. A relationship, money, a medical worry, a parent, a child, a colleague. Anything at all. No judgment, no criteria. Just a discreet, compassionate ear, there for whenever things get harder to carry alone.

Within the industry

Regulators including India's DGCA and IATA now mandate peer support programmes. That's a genuinely important step forward. But compliance alone doesn't guarantee trust. When a programme is run inside the same organisation someone works for, it's natural to wonder how confidential it really is, however well-intentioned it is. We sit apart on purpose. External, independent, fully trained, free of cost. So people can reach out without wondering who's watching.

Outside the industry

Beyond the individual conversation, we're asking the harder question. Why people are falling into the river in the first place. Shift work, long hours, disrupted sleep, constant passenger-facing pressure: these are structural conditions across the industry, not individual failings. Peer support matters. So does addressing what makes it necessary.

Press to Talk is free, confidential, and open to all aviation personnel.