A Virgin Atlantic air stewardess has landed a job as a supermarket shelf stacker after being furloughed by the struggling airline.
Sara Haider, 36, is used to flying all around the world with her job but is now stacking shelves at her local supermarket due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Super-fit Sara – who is also a personal trainer – said she is having a “blast” in her new role stacking chilled food in the store in Lancing, West Sussex.
RELATED: Virgin Australia goes into voluntary administration
It comes after Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson was slammed for saying he needs a £500 million ($A962 million) bailout to help the airline survive.
Cabin crew member Sara, of Brighton said: “As soon as I found out I’d been furloughed I didn’t want to sit around and do nothing.
“I applied to join the team at Asda (supermarket) so I could make a difference in the community,” she said.
Ms Haider said she’s always liked working with people, which made her interested in the position.
“Whether flying to the US, Caribbean, Far East or South Africa, I’ve always loved working with people and keeping active,” she said.
“So this role is perfect for me while we wait for life to return to normal.
“I’m very grateful to have landed a new job, and I’m delighted to be playing my part in feeding the nation.”
Steve Cracknell, General Store Manager of Asda Lancing, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Sara to join the Asda team.
“She has been doing a first-class job and has made a quick transition from airline trolleys to Asda trolleys.”
Meanwhile, Sir Richard – worth an estimated $US4.2 billion ($A6.2 billion) – put airline staff on unpaid leave after hundreds of flights were grounded.
Earlier this month, when Virgin Australia announced the airline was going into voluntary administration, Branson questioned the government as to why it hadn’t provided further assistance to the struggling airline.
But Sara – who took part in the UKBFF Bikini Masters last year – has kept positive during the trying times.
And she posted a snap of her in her new uniform on Instagram, praising Asda as she gushed: “Thanks for having me temporarily.”
On March 23, she shared a photo of her last flight before the COVID-19 lockdown.
She said: “The last B747 flight … hopefully will get to fly on the old bird again one day.
“Social distancing is pretty near impossible when you are in such confined space working with each other, hence it not applying here
“Now to get our people back home … quick stop in Jamaica to pick up more Brits … then home to (sic).
“Let’s hope my awesome company comes through the other side after all this.”
She also said she was applying for lockdown jobs adding: “YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU.
“If being on the front line means stacking shelves or driving delivery trucks … I’m in.
“Spent most of the morning applying for such jobs.
“If I can’t carry on with my two careers for now I want to help my county where it’s needed.”
This article originally appeared on The Sun and has been republished with permission.
