Airlines push to raise international pilot retirement age

Global airlines are requesting to raise age of retirement for commercial pilots from 65 to 67.

Navigating in the Cockpit/Kristopher Allison/Unsplash

According to Reuters, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) led a coalition of 350 airlines in a formal request to raise the age of retirement for commercial pilots by two years. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) received the request which was made in response to a global shortage of commercial pilots and rise of air travel demand.

The IATA argues that two years is a reasonable adjustment that will maintain safety. They’ve proposed that for each flight, one of the pilots must still be under 65. In this way, they can solve the shortage without increasing the safety risk.

The proposal, however, has faced major backlash from major American pilot unions who feel there is not enough data to accurately measure the risk of increasing retirement age. They remain committed to maintaining air travel safety.

The same request was heard and rejected back in 2023 due to the same opposition.

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