Ex-pilot who gave up dream over mandatory vaccinations leads anti-vax rally

A veteran Qantas pilot ‘not happy about the segregation’ of unvaccinated Australians has explained why he gave up his dream while supporting teachers and nurses at an anti-vax rally on the Coast.

A veteran Qantas pilot who quit the airline in protest at forced vaccinations has led an anti-vax rally on the Gold Coast.

Hundreds including vaccine-reluctant teachers and nurses attended the rally at Coolangatta-Tweed Heads on Friday.

Graham Hood, who worked for Qantas for 32 years before resigning last month, said he was at the rally to show solidarity for workers forced to get the jab or face losing their jobs.

“When I was five years’ old, I saw a Qantas aeroplane go over and I decided then I wanted to be a pilot,” he said.

“There are hundreds just like me who are only halfway through their career, and they haven’t been able to get enough information to give informed consent (to getting vaccinated).”

Former Qantas pilot Graham Hood at the anti-vax protest at Coolangatta-Tweed Heads. Picture: Greg Stolz

Mr Hood said he was approached by Qantas colleagues concerned about being forced to have a vaccine ‘that we’re not ready to have yet … because we don’t know what it is’.

“I was hearing their pain – there were people whose marriages were breaking up, there were people whose careers were going down the toilet,” he said.

“There were people who were losing their homes and having to pull their kids out of (private) school, and it broke my heart.

“When I realised what was going on, I started to get more and more angry. I thought ‘this isn’t fair, we’re rushing into this, it hasn’t been properly thought out’.

“Qantas paid me a lot of money when I used to fly for them to make decisions based on all the information.”

Mr Hood said after doing ‘due diligence’ research, he decided he could not yet get the jab, put out a now-viral video outlining his stance and resigned from the airline.

“The kids (in Qantas) need a voice and I realised that I needed to fall on my sword so that I can be a voice for them,” he said.

Anti-vaccination protesters crowd the Coolangatta-Tweed border on the southern Gold Coast on Friday. Photo: Glenn Hampson

“I hate seeing people bullied. I’m not a silly guy, I’m a sensible guy. I’ve managed to stay alive and I’ve never put anyone in danger in an aeroplane in the 53 years I’ve been a pilot.

“I decided that this (the vaccination push) has gone far enough and we need to put the brakes on this and have a really good conversation about why we’re doing this.

“I made the video and I knew when I pressed the send button that my career was over, because I’d breached the company’s social media policy. But I had to do it anyway.

“I don’t care whether people have been vaccinated or not, I just don’t want to lose our freedom.”

Mr Hood said the video had been viewed ‘several million’ times and he had received ‘thousands’ of messages of support from frontline emergency workers, police, nurses and teachers.

“They’re all saying ‘there’s something wrong with this’ and these are really educated people,” he said.

Police at the scene of an anti-vaccination protester at the Coolangatta-Tweed border. Photo: Glenn Hampson

He said it was ‘heartbreaking’ to leave Qantas but he had no choice.

“Some of the proudest moments in my life have been wearing this uniform and serving this country and this airline,” he said.

“They’re the oldest, safest airline in the world and I don’t want anyone not to fly Qantas because of what I’ve done.”

Mr Hood said he supported Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s decision to reopen Australia to international travel but said he was ‘not happy about the segregation’ of unvaccinated people.

He said he and his wife, who is a nurse, were taking vitamins and eating a healthy diet in a bid to ward off Covid-19.