Community & Business
5 November, 2024
Mareeba pilot’s prestigious aviation honour
A MAREEBA pilot has been honoured at a prestigious ceremony in London for his dedicated aviation service to help communities in need.
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) pilot Marcus Grey was recognised by the Honourable Company of Air Pilots as a Master Air Pilot and presented with The Captain John Ashton Memorial Award for his exemplary professionalism, skill and contribution for 40 years of service with the MAF.
Marcus, an experienced pilot and flight instructor with MAF’s training centre at Mareeba Airport, travelled to the UK with his wife Julie for the black-tie event in the grand surroundings of The Guildhall in London.
“It still has an air of being surreal, especially due to our two Australia-based daughters arriving by surprise in time to attend the event with my wife, and our other daughter living in the UK,” Marcus said.
“At the event, we were rubbing shoulders with a judge, a knighted MP, a Sherriff of London, an RAF Chaplain and the Duke of Kent.
“It was incredible to be applauded by such a distinguished group, and all the other amazing award recipients. A lot talked to us after the dinner and said how pleased they were that someone in MAF had gained this recognition.”
Marcus joined MAF in 1984 – flying in Arnhem Land, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste to bring humanitarian aid, medical care and essential supplies to isolated communities.
He has clocked up more than 17,000 flying hours to become one of MAF’s most experienced and highly qualified pilots.
He has used his vast experience to train the next generation of pilots at Ballarat and Coldstream, Victoria, and then at Mareeba when the training centre moved north in 2014.
Looking at the impact of his flying, Marcus said: “Even if I was carrying cargo, I got a lot of enjoyment out of knowing who it would help – if it was for a school, the kids were going to learn.”
MAF International uses aviation to bring help, hope and healing to isolated communities in Africa and the Asia-Pacific.
The Honourable Company of Air Pilots is a Livery Company of London; a philanthropic organisation which represents and protects the interests and welfare of pilots and navigators. It is incorporated by Royal Charter and its patron is the King.
