Meet the First U.S. Commercial Airline Pilot With Type 1 Diabetes, Episode 22 of Travel + Leisure’s New Podcast

Though 2020 is almost over we aren’t quite done introducing you to incredible travelers just yet.

Travel + Leisure's first podcast, Let's Go Together, is continuing on its journey to introduce listeners to some of the most inspiring and spirited travelers in the world. So far this season we've met people working to preserve their native cultures in Alaska and Hawaii, an Olympic athlete traveling the world in her hijab, plus-size travelers who explained what it's like traveling in a bigger body, and many more.

On this week’s episode, we’re introducing you to one more incredible globe trotter as host Kellee Edwards sits down with Bob Halicky, a commercial airline pilot who made history when he became the first Type 1 diabetic to ever fly for a major airline.

“The doctor comes in on that morning. And he's describing type 1 diabetes,” Halicky says of the moment that changed his life. He adds, doctors told him he’d need to use insulin for the rest of his life, to which he objected. However, the doctors replied, “Well, if you don't do this, you will die. So what do you want, do you want to be a dead pilot or you want to be an alive person?” For Halicky, it was an “easy choice.”

However, Halicky knew his flying days were far from over. In the episode, he explains how he persevered through it all by taking his case all the way to the top of the Federal Aviation Association and how his wife has made all the difference as his co-pilot in life (including helping him plan all his on-ground and in-flight meals) to get where he is today.

But like every good podcast, you have to listen to it yourself. Hear the rest on Let’s Go Together, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.