Global Airlines want to raise the age at which pilots can retire to 67
Global airlines want the UN to raise the age at which pilots can retire to 67, but US unions say that could make things less safe.
Because there aren’t enough pilots around the world, the biggest airlines in the world want the UN’s aviation watchdog to raise the age at which commercial pilots have to retire from 65 to 67.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will look at the plan, which was put forward by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), at its General Assembly starting on September 23. IATA, which is made up of about 350 airlines, said that adding two years to the age limit is a “careful but reasonable step that is consistent with safety.”
Pilots over the age of 65 are currently not allowed to fly on foreign routes. This is also the case in many countries within the United States. IATA’s plan would still need two pilots in the cockpit, with at least one younger than 65 in case the other pilot is older.
The push comes almost 20 years after ICAO raised the age of retirement from 60 to 65 in 2006. As the demand for flights rises sharply after the pandemic, airlines warn that a lack of qualified pilots could make it hard to run flights around the world.
But there is a lot of resistance to the plan, especially from pilot unions in the US. The American Airlines pilots’ group, the Allied Pilots Association (APA), warned against the move, saying that there wasn’t enough study on the health and safety risks.
“That’s not how we handle safety,” said APA spokesman and pilot Dennis Tajer.
A lot of other big unions, like the Air Line Pilots Association and the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, have also fought against moves to raise the age limit. A similar plan was stopped by US unions in 2023, even though many airlines strongly supported it.
A group of US lawmakers from both parties asked President Donald Trump’s administration to back foreign efforts to raise the retirement age last month. This shows that the debate is becoming more important to politicians.
If it is approved, the ICAO plan could change how airlines hire workers all over the world. This would help airlines temporarily who are having trouble finding pilots, but it would also bring up new questions about safety and the youngest age that can be in the cockpit.
