Former Brisbane police officer and long-time Morayfield resident Steven Biggs has returned to his childhood passion—flying—not just for adventure, but to save lives.
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Now based at the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) training base in Mareeba, Biggs is helping prepare the next generation of humanitarian pilots for missions in some of the world’s most remote and challenging locations.
Steven Biggs, 51, once spent his weekends taking his young sons to cricket at The Gabba and playing soccer on the Morayfield State High recreation grounds near their home. These days, he’s more likely to be found mentoring new pilots or flying critical medevac missions for isolated communities.
MAF is the world’s largest humanitarian air service, operating in 24 low-income countries. Biggs has been flying with the organisation for over a decade, with assignments spanning Arnhem Land, West Africa, and now Queensland. His stories include airlifting children in medical emergencies, flying aid workers through lockdowns, and moving his own young family to the Indigenous community of Elcho Island in the Northern Territory.
“I’ve done medevacs for little kids all over the world,” Biggs said. “Watching a dad carry his sick child onto my plane and knowing I can fly them to safety—it’s one of the most powerful moments you can experience.”
Steven and his wife Margot moved to Arnhem Land in 2000 with their three boys under five, trading suburban life in Morayfield for homeschooling in the heat and helping support Yolngu communities. After returning to Brisbane in 2004, Biggs spent years as a police officer while raising his sons. He returned to MAF flying in 2019 after his children had grown and left home.
This Father’s Day, he’s supporting MAF’s “Fuel for Father’s Day” campaign, encouraging Australians to gift a symbolic jerrycan of aircraft fuel. The campaign helps fund life-saving flights around the world. “As I get older, I don’t need stuff,’ he said. ‘But getting fuel for MAF makes me and my boys feel like we’re really helping – and I can tell you that MAF aircraft really do make a difference!”
Despite the distance from his family, Biggs says his role as a training captain is deeply rewarding. One memory that stands out for Biggs happened in 2020 when he rescued a family stranded in rural Liberia just as the pandemic hit. It was his own son’s 21st birthday back in Queensland, but the heartfelt thank-you drawing from a little girl on that flight reminded him why he continues the work.
“I’ve kept Audrey’s drawing on my desk ever since as a reminder about why I choose to fly with MAF and help people make a difference in challenging and remote locations.’
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Through all the challenges, Biggs says being a father and a MAF pilot are the two roles he’s most proud of. “Watching my boys do a fantastic job as dads is incredible. But it’s also a privilege to help fathers across the world to have the best lives they can with the help of a small aircraft and great demonstration of love in action. I hope lots of dads receive a jerrycan of MAF fuel this Father’s Day.”
Published 4-August-2025
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