HELP WANTED: 17,000 AIRLINE PILOTS

Aviation Industry Needs to Tackle Looming Pilot Shortage Washington - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned the world’s airlines of a severe pilot shortage unless industry and government work together to change training and qualification practices.

IATA issued a new estimate that the industry may need 17,000 new pilots annually due to expected industry growth and retirements. "Increasing the retirement age to 65 will help but it can’t be the only solution. It’s time to ring the warning bell. We must re-think pilot training and qualification to further improve safety and increase training capacity,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA Director General and CEO. He told the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) International Safety Forum, "the industry is concerned that there are no global standards for training concepts or regulation. Pilot training has not changed in 60 years - we are still ticking boxes with an emphasis on flight hours.”

Remarks of Giovanni Bisignani at the Federal Aviation Administration:

Our 5-6% growth per year brings challenges. Just look at the chaos in New York where politicians failed to invest in infrastructure. We are working closely with the FAA on solutions. Another major challenge of growth is the availability of qualified personnel. There are 16,000 planes on manufacturers’ order books; to fly them we must produce 17,000 new pilots a year. How do we train and qualify them, while continuing to improve safety?

Friday, December 14, 2007