Flying Home for Christmas – or Not: Adapting Traditions to Fit Aviation Roles
As we move closer to Christmas Day, I wanted to write something that acknowledges a simple reality: aviation is an industry that doesn’t really stop.
This week at work, the most common conversation I’ve heard has been, of course, “What’s your Christmas roster like?". A large proportion of my colleagues are flying or away from home on Christmas Day itself. While we don’t do it alone, we are one of the teams that helps make other people’s holiday reunions, celebrations, and travel plans possible.
However airline, air traffic, or airport rosters are structured, if you work in aviation you will almost certainly take your turn at working over the peak holiday period. The timing, predictability, and routine that Christmas often relies on can become challenging. Family and friends — particularly those outside the industry — may struggle to understand why you can’t join every event, meal, or outing.
Christmas Psychology 101
My Christmas theme this year has been “making deposits in your mental health piggy bank.” The idea is to create small, meaningful moments that can later be “withdrawn” by deliberately remembering them when we need to sustain ourselves.
Much of the frazzled feeling around the holiday season comes from pressure to preserve traditions that can feel quite rigid. Aviation roles require flexibility in when we work, where we are, and who we spend time with — which can seem directly at odds with those expectations.
Traditions, however, can be understood as containers for meaning, rather than completely fixed events. A tradition centred on family time might look like games on Christmas afternoon, a shared meal, or a dog walk on Christmas morning. When we look beneath the surface, what values are those traditions really expressing?
For many people, the answer lies in connection, meaning, generosity, or creating memories for others. With a clearer understanding of the values underneath the traditions that matter to you and your family, a little flexibility can often allow them to work around the realities of aviation schedules.
Psychological Flexibility and Christmas Traditions
I’ve written elsewhere about growing up in a flying family — my father was a pilot. Our holiday traditions focused on eating together, playing fiercely competitive board games, and including neighbours or family members who might otherwise have been alone.
If my father couldn’t be home on the day itself, we would eat something nice, invite others to join us, and perhaps open a small present on Christmas Eve before he went to work. We’d then nominate a day he was home to “do Christmas properly.” Once I was old enough to cook, we shared the workload and often ended up with multiple full Christmas lunches. I never did come out on top in the board game competitions, though.
As more than one pilot entered the family, Christmas simply became something we scheduled — not something that failed if the date moved.
A flexible approach to traditions might mean shifting them in time or space. Sometimes it’s possible to travel with the family pilot on a Christmas trip, move the main celebration to another day, or even celebrate twice. Planning how you’ll stay connected while apart — through video calls, messages, or small hidden gifts — can help maintain values around closeness and continuity.
If you’re flying home for Christmas, it’s worth planning your rest if you arrive on the day itself. Falling asleep face-down in the turkey gravy or snapping at Aunt Maud from exhaustion are probably not traditions you aspire to keep. I wish you time at home that supports what matters most to you and adds a few more deposits to your mental health piggy bank.
If you’re not flying home for Christmas, focusing on small details that align with the values behind your traditions can help keep them alive until you return. I wish you safe travels, flexibility, and traditions that are kind enough to wait for you.