Not a subscriber or a registered user yet? Here's NPR's David Schaper. Might seem logical to you. U.S. 2023 CNBC LLC. 2.1.10.1 A Contracting State, having issued pilot licences, shall not permit the holders thereof to act as pilot-in-command of an aircraft engaged in international commercial air transport operations if the licence holders have attained their 60th birthday or, in the case of operations with more than one pilot where the other pilot is younger . Outside of raising the retirement age by two years, the bill does not make any major changes to current law governing pilot retirements. 67 tomorrow, then 70 in a couple more years when the system problem of not enough pilots is still not fixed. The former vice president has become the Democratic front-runner with primary victories across the country. The job requires U.S. citizenship and completion of an air-traffic management degree in programs accredited by the Federal Aviation Administration. American and Delta have dropped dozens of cities from their flight schedules, too. Calls for raising the minimum retirement age So to keep the industry from losing even more pilots, Graham is sponsoring legislation that would raise the mandatory airline pilot. We're not dumbing down anything.". With a huge drop in the flying population, airlines were giving generous retirement packages to many pilots who weren't even at the appropriate retirement age of 65. "It's a bad idea and it doesn't solve the problem," says Capt. Equally, some airline unions have ensured that pilot mandatory retirement age hasn't been raised to the ICAO required 65. As an example, Dutch legacy carrier KLM has a mandatory retirement age of 58. Last week featured some strikingly good performances, led by Singapore Airlines and Qantas. Your feedback is important in helping us keep our community safe. And she notes that one of the best ways to gain flight hours and valuable experience is working as a flight instructor after completing a flight school program. The argument for mandatory retirement almost always centers on public safety. NetJets says the bill has a one-year phase-in period and will affect about 70 pilots who are older than age 70. The numbers suggest by 2030 the industry could have a deficit of almost 30,000 pilots. About 5,773 pilots a year are hitting the age of 65, when the Federal Aviation Administration mandates retirement for commercial airline pilots. Employers May Need To Revisit Their Internal Policies. APA said the FAA should be permitted to proceed with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for a full vetting of this issue. This is false. In July 2022, Senator Lindsey Graham introduced legislation that would raise the mandatory retirement age of airline pilots from 65 to 67. There are upgrades going on at the major airlines and Fedex well inside of two years right now. "There's a shortage of plans," says Tajer, adding that airline "management did not plan for this recovery" in air travel. Under Supreme Court precedent, an employer bears a heavy burden in proving that a mandatory retirement policy of age 67 for its bookkeepers or accountants is justified by the BFOQ defense under the ADEA. Training for prospective pilots is expensive and time-consuming, presenting a major hurdle for airlines desperate for them. Copyright 2022 Travel + Leisure Co. All Rights Reserved. Anybody can have a passable simulator check ridebut at some age, decline sets in, and will manifest itself at inopportune times. Additionally, there have been major strides in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic conditions, such as hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, that precede cardiac events, and people are staying healthier for longer and live longer, too. Our company has mandatory retirement requiring our employees to retire at age 67. So, if youre very senior, its hard to give up the airline career. WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A group of Republicans in Congress on Monday proposed legislation to raise the mandatory commercial pilot retirement age to 67 from 65, in a bid to address an airline industry staff shortage. The main advantages are probably the high income and schedule flexibility associated with longevity at a particular airline, Manno says. On May 11, 2011, the EEOC and Asian World entered into a Consent Decree wherein Asian World agreed to pay Pashko $100,000 to resolve the case. He has been working as a 737 Captain since 2010. Some regional airlines, including for American Airlines, recently announced big pay bumps to attract and retain pilots. Retired airline pilots are still able to fly commercially. Ahead of Planned 5G Rollout. The answer is to make sure that we have as many and as good pilots ready to take their place; to have a stronger pipeline.". The Allied Pilots Association, which represents 12,000 pilots of American Airlines, had commissioned an outside polling firm to survey U.S. adults on the issue of pilot retirement age. There are so many other interesting things to do.. By the sixth year of his career he had made it to Captain flying the MD-80, and also flew F-100 as Captain for two years before returning to the MD-80 for twelve years. The union says in a news release that the proposed legislation is a "misguided attempt to solve a problem that doesn't exist. But that time is limited. SCHAPER: Elizabeth Bjerke is an aviation professor and associate dean at the University of North Dakota. Sen. Lindsey Graham on Monday introduced legislation that would raise the mandatory retirement age of commercial airline pilots from 65 to 67. ELIZABETH BJERKE: I do think it might be a distraction to the bigger issue of needing to increase and inspire the next generation of pilots. If the flying bug is still there, join an aeroclub and muck about in a bugsmasher or, even better, a glider. The U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved the measure earlier in the week. Otherwise, dont stagnate the profession. Those upgrades you claim to be your evidence are positions you would never ever ever consider. There is currently no maximum age limit for being a private pilot or for being an Air Force pilot. How to Pack Efficiently Without Sacrificing Style, According to 'Queer Eye' Star Tan France, United Airlines Flight Diverted After Passengers Tried to Upgrade Themselves to Business Class, 10 Holiday Travel Hacks Travel + Leisure Editors Swear By. The airlines blame the chronic delays and cancellations, in part, on a shortage of staff, and especially of pilots, which gets magnified in times of bad weather or other operational problems. He said the FAA was preparing to award $5 million in workforce development grants to help boost pilot supply but did not provide specifics for easing the immediate shortage. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. ALPA supports a recommendation to require a 1st Class Medical certification every six months for pilots over age 60. I do feel like a mandatory retirement age is a good idea because motor skills and overall physical vitality diminish with age, says commercial airline Captain Chris Manno. I'm not going to be on board with anything that could compromise safety. If you go the OCS route, that must be added. Air travelers just endured another weekend of widespread flight delays and cancellations. However, some local civil aviation authorities have extended that age to address a shortage of pilots in their markets. We only use the "The United States has long set the worldwide standard for aviation safety and should preserve its leadership role. This contentious rule came about towards the end of the 1950s. Airline Pilot Retirement Age Raised to 65. The proposed legislation would not change any other pilot qualifications and would require airlines to continue using training and qualification programs approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. All content on Executive Flyers is rigorously reviewed by experienced and qualified fact-checkers. Meanwhile, nearly 14,000 qualified U.S. pilots will be forced to retire over the next five years due to the federal mandatory pilot retirement age. With near certainty I can tell you that the vast majority of airline pilots under the age of 55-60 are a hard Hell No on extending the retirement age further. Age Limits for Airline Pilots Minimum Age of Airline Pilots Airline pilots operate under an Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL), which requires a minimum age of 23 to be issued. But with several of the major airlines in bankruptcy, pilots are seeing their pensions reduced and some are fighting mandatory retirement. Under this legislation, approximately 5,000 pilots would have the opportunity to continue to fly for a further two years. Greg Nash/Pool via REUTERS. But politicians? Not after the massive order for Airbus and Boeing planes it announced last week. Even mid-tier carriers, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue Airways, say they face elevated attrition rates. And she notes that most aspiring commercial airline pilots earn their flight hours by working as flight instructors. GRAHAM: In the next two years, 5,000 pilots will be aged out, not because they're unsafe, just simply because they reach 65. NetJets pilots face mandatory retirement at age 70 after company management and the union worked out a compromise deal. "Look, these retirement ages are there for a reason and the reason is safety. Although grounded commercial transport pilots have fought over the past decade to regain access to the flight deck, it was not until after the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) last year allowed pilots to fly until they reach 65 that momentum built quickly to change the rule in the United States. SCHAPER: That's South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham at his home state's Greenville-Spartanburg Airport. Happy to be forced out when the time comes (albeit I'm hoping to bail at 49-51). Marisa Garcia is an aviation writer and analyst. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. It also mandates that air carriers perform additional proficiency checks on pilots over 60, such as line checks every six months. "This is not a solution to the pilot-supply issue," says Elizabeth Bjerke, a pilot, aviation professor and associate dean at the University of North Dakota. This would not be welcome by the majority of today's airline pilots. "Other countries allow people to fly to 67 and beyond. The retirement age has been set by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO). "This legislation is critical to help address the pilot shortage and prevent air service loss in communities across the country," added Lemos. The "Let Experienced Pilots Fly Act" would also require pilots over the age of 65 to maintain a first-class medical certification that needs to be renewed every six months. In airline companies, the age in which you are required to retire vary accordingly. But Southwest Airlines didnt have much of a choice as it faced a barrage of hostile questions about its holiday fiasco. I'm not going to be on board with anything that could compromise safety," Buttigieg said. Requires air carriers to continue using pilot training and qualification programs approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. So to address the shortage, some in the industry and in Congress are calling for some big changes. ", Airlines for America, an industry group representing major carriers including American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, declined to say if it supports raising the pilot retirement age. WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A group of Republicans in Congress on Monday proposed legislation to raise the mandatory commercial pilot retirement age to 67 from 65, in a bid to address an airline industry staff shortage. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), however, said Monday that it opposed any attempts to increase the retirement age for professional airline pilots. Presently in the U.S. the mandatory retirement age is 65 and due to the predicted pilot shortage, theres talk of raising that to 67, although I have yet to hear anything official on that.. 50 isnt too old to become an airline pilot, What to Do If Flight Prices Decrease After Booking. On paper, it seems like a good solution for solving a . You want more years flying? At 16 pilots per aircraft this will correspond to 1,800 aircraft that will be parked or the equivalent of two US legacy carriers such as [American] and [United], he said. But beyond that, first the FAA would need to move beyond tech from the 80s and 90s. "We have a crisis when it comes to airline travel," Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said recently at his home state's Greenville-Spartanburg airport. After retiring, many pilots pursue second careers as flight trainers or find other jobs in aviation, but Manno has no such plans. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. One pilot friend told me after any long-haul trip, You dont use power tools. That would make my present routine of running, weight lifting and biking impossible, and that physical regimen is key to my well being.. We are facing a chronic scarcity that will last for years given the known retirements and the projected numbers of new pilots entering the system. The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered. There is a mandatory retirement age of 56. The U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved the measure earlier in the week. Let pilots who are over 65 keep flying, Skiles says. Airlines blame the high number of flight cancellations this summer in part on staffing shortages, especially among pilots. The FAA reauthorization bill now before Congress no . By David Shepardson. 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