A grounded Aer Lingus pilot has taken his head out of the clouds during the pandemic to pursue a sideline in agricultural contracting.

Kieran O'Regan (41) from Ladysbridge, Co. Cork, has swapped the cockpit for the tractor cab during lockdown as he works for agricultural contractor John Flavin, a childhood friend.

"I don't come from a farming background but I grew up around farms and helped out on local farms, especially dairy farms. I was eight or nine when I started. Back then, a lot of farmers were growing potatoes so I did a lot of picking and grading potatoes," said Kieran.

After his Leaving Cert, he went to Waterford IT where he studied electrical engineering, followed by applied physics and instrumentation at Cork Institute of Technology.

Aviation was his passion and he first flew solo at Cork airport at the age of 16. He pursued his dream to become a pilot by relocating to Australia where he combined working full-time with flight training at Bankstown, Sydney.

After converting his Australian pilot's licence to its European equivalent, he got a job with Aer Arann, now Stobart Air, in 2013. He moved to Aer Lingus in 2016. "That was the dream. I always wanted to fly a jet whereas with Aer Arann, it was ATR turbo props."

Kieran who hasn't flown since December 21 last, said that being grounded for a second summer is devastating for all involved who have invested approximately €100,000 in their training. Having worked for John Flavin's father in the past, he has pivoted to agricultural contracting.

"There has been a lot of advances in measuring grass, different fertilisers and organic farming. It's all very interesting," said Kieran.

While the high-flying job of pilot is associated with glamour, Kieran doesn't see himself as a 'typical' pilot.

"I'm just a normal guy from the country who enjoys flying. I go from being a pilot to agricultural contracting and it doesn't faze me. While both jobs are vastly different in some ways, there are also similarities. Both farming and aviation can be hard work, with long hours.

"Farming is a lifestyle. For a lot of the dairy farmers around here, farming is part of their life and they don't want to do anything else. In both walks of life, you have to be good at problem solving and machinery repairs. You have to be independent and willing to involve people in your work sometimes," said Kieran.

While he enjoys life on the land, he is anxious to get back in the air and he sees the restrictions in this country as making it very difficult for those in the aviation sector.

"Pilots require frequent training and 'recency' - three landings and three take-offs in 90 days - to be able to fly. We aren't able to keep up with our required flying hours because of the lack of available flights," he said.

"This is going to make it impossible for people to travel and conduct business. Myself and my colleagues don't see any government support for the aviation industry going forward and I think we will be here for quite a while. Airlines are moving planes out of Ireland because of the restrictions and once they're gone, they're gone," he added.

"We have to follow the work - we can't wait around for the government to realise the aviation industry needs to reopen. I'm probably going to have to emigrate," said Kieran.

The EU, Kieran said, has proposed a Digital Green Certificate that people could have on their mobile phones to facilitate safe free movement inside the EU during the pandemic.

It would be proof that a person has been vaccinated against Covid-19, received a negative test result or recovered from Covid-19. "It would allow Europe to reopen safely, but the Irish government isn't interested. While other countries have plans to open up, we're shutting down even further," he contended.

"There are 143,000 jobs in aviation and the industry supports hospitality, tourism and foreign investment. If the connectivity isn't there, it's all over," he concluded.