Are a lot of pilots retiring?

More than half of pilots working today hit the mandatory retirement age of 65 in the next 15 years and younger pilots are not making up for those aging out.



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According to the Regional Airline Association, nearly 50% of today's qualified pilots must retire in the next 15 years, creating a high demand for pilots.

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In order for the airlines to try and manage their business during the COVID-19 pandemic, they offered incentives to pilots for early retirement in the form of large monetary buyouts. Many pilots took this lucrative offer, and now these pilots cannot be quickly rehired by the airlines or easily replaced.

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Overall employment of airline and commercial pilots is projected to grow 6 percent from 2021 to 2031, about as fast as the average for all occupations. About 18,100 openings for airline and commercial pilots are projected each year, on average, over the decade.

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Over the next 20 years, 80,000 airline pilots are retiring. United Airlines alone estimates half of their 12,500 pilots will retire over the next ten years, and they will need to hire 10,000 pilots over that period to keep pace with growth3.

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Boeing Forecast Trusted by more than 100 aviation regulatory agencies worldwide, the current Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook concludes that the aviation industry will need to supply more than 602,000 commercial airline pilots worldwide over the next 20 years2.

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Job Outlook Overall employment of airline and commercial pilots is projected to grow 4 percent from 2022 to 2032, about as fast as the average for all occupations. About 16,800 openings for airline and commercial pilots are projected each year, on average, over the decade.

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Yes, being a pilot is worth it for many students. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 5% job growth for airline and commercial pilots over the next ten years. This is faster than the average growth for all occupations.

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2025 – 34,000 pilots shortage
More than 34,000 newly trained pilots needed by 2025. The FAA predicts that air travel demand will continue to grow at a rate of 4.3 percent per year, even as more than 4,100 pilots per year retire in the US alone.

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In the 1980s, roughly two-thirds of all airline pilots in the United States had some form of military experience, be it Air Force, Army, Navy, or National Guard. Today, it is estimated that about one-third of airline pilots have military backgrounds, a sharp reduction that can be attributed to multiple factors.

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Europe. Although other regions require new pilots more urgently than Europe, the problem is still there, and it will gain momentum towards the end of 2024 into 2025, according to the interview by Airways Magazine with Geoff Murray, a partner at Oliver Wyman's global aerospace sector team in April this year.

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The Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, which reauthorizes funding for the Federal Aviation Administration and aviation safety and infrastructure programs for the next five years, includes an amendment that would raise the mandatory retirement age for pilots from 65 to 67.

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The answer is no. While some airlines have an age requirement before you can fly a commercial flight, there's no age limit in wanting to become a pilot. Many think that at age 40, they have missed their opportunity to become a pilot.

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American Airlines pilots, for example, receive all their retirement benefits in one lump sum, he says. Most such payouts approach or exceed seven figures, he adds. Other estimates range between $2 million and $2.5 million.

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The lifestyle of a professional pilot can be quite challenging. Pilots often have to work long hours and are often away from home for extended periods of time.

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Many pilots find the job to be very exciting, dynamic, and rewarding. There are numerous careers in the aviation industry that you can pursue following your schooling.

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  • Long and sometimes unpredictable hours. Pilots work different numbers of hours depending on several factors. ...
  • Training. You need a lot of training to be a pilot. ...
  • Flight school and training can be expensive. ...
  • Stress of the job.


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Pilots typically work between 50 and 75 hours a week. They may fly for several hours at a time or be on call and must be ready to fly on short-notice, typically due to a staff shortage.

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Fatigue is particularly prevalent among pilots because of unpredictable work hours, long duty periods, circadian disruption, and insufficient sleep. These factors can occur together to produce a combination of sleep deprivation, circadian rhythm effects, and 'time-on task' fatigue.

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From memory, the net effect after 15,000 hours in a jet (a large but achievable number for an older pilot) is on the order of 30 nanoseconds. Subjective to their own experience (a clock that rides along with them their entire life), no. Everyone ages the same rate by that measure.

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Robotic pilots will probably take the position of human pilots, although a human pilot will still be needed to control the aircraft. AI or Robots can replace a pilot, but when? Aviation technology applications are not always created with human interaction in mind.

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In the U.S., there are no FAA age limits for pilots except for commercial airline pilots employed by airlines certificated under 14 CFR Part 121. These airlines cannot employ pilots after they reach the age of 65. However, these pilots may stay on with a Part 121 carrier in some other role, such as flight engineer.

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