Tori Bottomley Mike Buckley Autumn 2021 brings with it mixed feelings; as the world begins to open and close and open again, each step towards normality seems tentative, with the threat of backtracking looming constantly. Despite the storms we have had to navigate for more than a year, a little further ahead clear skies are slowly coming into view. Airlines are hiring again, pilots are being taken off furlough, a purple Dash 8 is rising from the ashes, and somewhere in the ether Richard Branson is waving through the stars. The future of air travel has much excitement in store for us, but we still have a few storms to contend with in the meantime. The repercussions of COVID-19 on this industry have been compared by many to the wake of the 9/11 attacks, and 20 years on from that devastating day we take a look at how the world is remembering the milestone. Also inside this issue, Robin Evans reveals the frosty truth about contrails, and we take a look at the Duke of Edinburghs flying legacy. Henry Newman writes on how to boost employability for MPL holders and we consider the true meaning of Mayday. The members of the pilot community, who have been riding this storm with us, have been one hell of a crew and whether youre reading this while sitting behind a yoke or the steering wheel of a Waitrose delivery van, it is great to see so many of our readers coming together. We may not have a weather radar for this flight, and we may yet be struck by a little more lightning, but if we maintain Vturb for a bit longer, we will soon be clear of weather, together. Picture credits, where not shown or supplied: iStock.com / Chalabala / Tupungato / BrianAJackson / Cmart7327 / Vanbeets / Terraxplorer / Adrianocastelli / Janifest / ChrisHepburn / 400tmax / Olli0815 / Tarabird / Mizoula / Sefa ozel / Endicosoft / MarioGuti / Chalabala / Csfotoimages / Akshay Shukla / Alextov / lsannes / Yellowpaul / Piranka / Erhui1979 / Carloscastilla / Rikkyal / Scyther5 / Alamy Stock Photo / PA Images / Keystone Press / Reuters LIFT-OFF Duty editors welcome