The airline sector is experiencing a pilot shortage. Due to a shortage of pilots, several airlines will be unable to reach their capacity targets.
United CEO Scott Kirby stated that the industry’s pilot crisis is genuine, and that most airlines would be unable to meet their capacity projections because there are just not enough pilots, at least for the next five years.
Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci recently apologized for flight cancellations, noting that the airline had 63 less pilots than anticipated when planning their schedule, which caused a ripple effect, according to him.
By the time they realized their mistake, the pilots and flight attendants had already bid on April and May schedules, making it difficult to make adequate adjustments to avoid cancellations.
To solve the issue, certain US airlines have indicated that the standards for becoming a pilot would be reduced in order to get more people into the skies.
These changes might include eliminating degree requirements, half the amount of required flying hours, and raising the pilot retirement age from 65 to 67.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is said to be considering presenting this bill in Congress. Senate.
Republic Airways has also asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for authorization to recruit pilots who have completed 750 flying hours out of its training program. This is half of the current need.
Families of those killed in the Colgan Air 3407 tragedy in 2009 have rebuffed the proposal. The condition was imposed after that tragedy, which was the last fatal passenger commercial airplane crash in the United States.
