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The drug-related arrests of several pilots this month may have damaged the reputation of their profession, but for Jakarta-based Glenn Lusikooy, working as a pilot and taking to the skies several times a week is still the best job in the world.

“When I was around 15 or 16, I watched the movie ‘Top Gun,’ with Tom Cruise, and thought, wow, being a pilot is cool!” Glenn said, laughing.

After graduating from high school in 1991, he applied to the Indonesian State Aviation School (STPI) Curug in Banten. At the same time, Glenn enrolled in college to study law because he thought that he would be rejected by Curug.

But what seemed like an impossible dream came true, and Glenn soon found himself in Adelaide, Australia, where he underwent extensive training to become a pilot for Merpati Nusantara Airlines.

“At the time, there was a lack of pilots,” Glenn recalled. “So I stayed in Adelaide for one year. Since I received a scholarship from the government, I signed a contract with them afterward for 10 years.”

Additional training in Manchester, England, qualified Glenn to fly passenger airplanes, which he has now been doing since 1993.

“It has been 19 years, but it still feels like it just happened yesterday,” he said.

In 2005, Glenn moved to AirAsia when the Malaysia-based low-cost airline opened its sister company, Indonesia AirAsia. He was among the first recruits and now regularly flies an Airbus A320 throughout Indonesia and to other destinations in the region, including Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore ,Thailand and sometimes Australia.

“The company is very strict about following the rules,” Glenn said. “One of the rules is that pilots are not allowed to fly more than nine hours a day, or 30 hours per week. I normally fly less than 30.”

Normally Glenn flies four consecutive days, and then has three days off.

“I heard other airlines break those rules; some of the pilots fly more than they are supposed to, and accidents happened that were caused by fatigue and stress,” he said. “It’s quite stupid, really, because such rules exist for safety reasons.”

Glenn, who has a 3-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter, said that since he got married and had kids, he appreciates being able to sleep at home every night.

“When I was younger, I loved to stay overnight,” he said. “Sometimes, I’d fly to Papua and stay there for a couple of days, or spend some time in Bali, Bandung, Medan — you name it. It was quite an adventure. But now, I just want to be with my family.”

If Glenn is on the schedule for a morning flight, he leaves the house between 3:30 and 4 a.m., and comes back in the early afternoon. If he has an afternoon flight, he arrives back home after midnight.

“But in the end, I always get to go home,” he said.

In 2008, Glenn applied to Qatar Airways just to gauge his chances. He was offered a job, but eventually decided against moving to the Middle East for the sake of his family. “I’d rather see my children grow up in Jakarta,” he said.

AirAsia conducts monthly training and tests that include safety management and technical knowledge to ensure its pilots are kept up to date.

Glenn said fear of flying was common among passengers, but he said there was no need to worry.

“Turbulence is perfectly normal, even when the weather looks fine and the sky is blue,” he said.

“We are near the equator, so sometimes strong winds from the north and south collide. It is not dangerous, because all the aircraft have been tested. It’s only dangerous when passengers keep walking around after I have put on the ‘fasten your seat belt’ sign, because if it’s bumpy, you can slip, knock your head on something or worse,” Glenn explained.

He said, however, some routes were more difficult to navigate than others.

“Bandung is a mountainous area, for example, so we always have to do a route check first,” he explained. Pilots must understand the environment to land an aircraft safely in Bandung. The same goes for Manado in North Sulawesi, he said.

“When we have bad weather, I must have an alternate airport, which of course also requires extra fuel,” he said. “Most of the thunderstorms in this area last around 30 minutes, so we either wait until it’s over or make our way to the alternate airport.”

As the pilot, he makes the final decision. In Glenn’s experience, it is normally best to wait and land at the original airport.

“For some pilots, the problem is not the weather conditions, but communicating,” Glenn said. “If your English is not good, well, you’ll have trouble when you fly to Hong Kong or Singapore, because sometimes [the air traffic controllers] speak fast.”

One of the most memorable incidents for Glenn was when one of his passengers had a heart attack just as he was about to take off.

“I had to get off the runway as fast as possible and contact the ground staff to prepare an ambulance,” he said. “Luckily, the passenger survived.”

Last month, he had a similar experience when he was en route to Jakarta from Singapore. An elderly passenger was about to board the plane when he said that half of his body was numb, a common indicator of a stroke.

Although the passenger insisted he was well enough to travel, Glenn decided it was too dangerous for him to fly.

“What if something happens and he dies in the air? Who will take responsibility for that?” he said.

After consulting with AirAsia management in Singapore, the passenger was advised to leave the plane and see a doctor first.

“Once he had a check-up and got a certificate from the doctor saying he was fit enough to fly, he could take one of the next flights to Jakarta,” Glenn said. “Otherwise, it would be our fault, because we knew something was wrong and we still let him fly with us.”

It is not only sick people Glenn has to tend to, but also unruly passengers. While it hasn’t happened to him personally, he has heard stories from friends of passengers insulting and attacking both crew members and other passengers on the plane.

“While in the air, we try to calm them down,” he said. “But as soon as the aircraft lands, the police are already there to arrest them.”

Even though Glenn has been as a pilot for almost 20 years, he acknowledges he sometimes still feels overwhelmed when he thinks about the responsibility he bears every flight.

“All the passengers sitting behind you are practically putting their lives in your hands, and you are only human. But I’ve learned to manage,” he said. “That is why I don’t understand why some pilots live their lives irresponsibly. So if you want to party, just do it on your day off.”

If his health allows it, Glenn can fly until he is 65. Every six months, he has to have a medical check-up.

In keeping with his original backup plan, Glenn studied law at the University of Indonesia from 2001 to 2006. Even though it was time-consuming and made for a pretty hectic schedule, he thought it was the smart thing to do.

“You never know what will happen tomorrow,” he said. “You always have to have a plan B.”