A Scots pilot who left aviation to retrain as a butcher is reinstating his wings after his air traffic controller son inspired him to return to aviation.

Paul Greer, from Glenrothes, took voluntary redundancy from his flying career during the pandemic to work in the family butcher business.

After the business was sold in 2023 his son Thomas, who followed in his father’s footsteps by securing a job in Newcastle Airport’s air traffic control, encouraged him to return to the skies.

Now Paul has returned to flying and has joined Loganair as a Captain within its Embraer fleet.

Recently father and son formed an unusual air and ground duo as Paul made his first flight into Newcastle since joining Loganair. While Paul commanded the flightdeck Thomas took charge from the Newcastle tower’s radar room.

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And the family inspiration will take a further twist when Thomas embarks on his own pilot training course in May. Bringing his dad in to land on April 4 was one of his final shifts with Newcastle air traffic control before he begins the journey to gain his own wings with BA’s SpeedBird Pilot Academy.

Paul said: “Going from flying to the meat counter and back to flying again is not the usual career path for being either a pilot or a butcher, but I am incredibly excited to be returning to the flightdeck.

“As a family we are lifelong aviation fans. The enthusiasm instilled in me by my dad, an avid aviation enthusiast and flightsim armchair pilot, was in turn passed to my son. It’s thanks to the family passion for aviation that I applied to join Loganair.

“I am extremely proud of everything Thomas has achieved in his career to date, and he will make a brilliant pilot after his training. Who knows, one day he could be my First Officer, if he plays his cards right!”

Ronan Milne, Head of Training, Loganair, said:  “It is extremely rewarding to welcome Paul to the team at a time when we are enhancing capacity and growing resilience across our network.

“We have many relatives working together at Loganair, but the love that Paul and his son Thomas share of flying really is very special. There can’t be many other father and son duos in the industry who get the chance to converse between the flightdeck and air traffic control and could one day sit next to each other on the flightdeck.”