Are airline pilots in demand?

Publicly available data on hiring, employment, and wages indicate strong current demand for pilots. Meeting that demand has been particularly difficult for regional airlines—which generally serve smaller communities—and has, according to them, affected their operations.



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Post-Pandemic Pilot Shortage Early retirements during the coronavirus pandemic have accelerated demand for new pilots to enter the industry and begin training.

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But as air travel demand continues to recover in 2022, our most recent forecast now projects that demand for pilots will outstrip supply in most regions globally between 2022 and 2024 — and continue to worsen over the next decade.

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We now anticipate a peak shortfall in 2026 of about 24,000 pilots instead of a peak of close to 30,000 once predicted in the wake of COVID-19 early retirements. That still represents about 23% of the pilot workforce, so the problem is far from eliminated.

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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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Job Outlook
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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The root cause of the coming shortage varies by region: In the United States, it's an aging workforce facing mandatory retirement, fewer pilots exiting the military, and barriers to entry, including the cost of training.

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Is being a pilot worth it in 2023? In terms of job security, becoming a pilot is a very safe bet. With the world's ever-growing population, the demand for air travel will only increase.

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I even here in North America and in Europe it's a very well-respected career. It's a well-paid career. Even more so as you accrue hours of flight experience. I think there's lots of benefits associated to it that I think the layman employee would not really have the options to do.

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For starters, it's a career that offers great freedom and flexibility. Pilots can travel all around the world and experience different cultures, climates, and landscapes. It's also a very respected and rewarding profession, mainly due to the high level of responsibility and skill that comes with it.

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An acute pilot shortage for major airlines including United, Delta, American and Southwest is forcing the industry to rethink how it trains pilots and recruits the next generation of aviation labor in the cockpit.

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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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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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Pilots la live slightly shorter lives because they have a slightly increased cancer risk because of increased radiation at altitude. But other professions have their dangers, of at least comparable magnitude.

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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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Over the coming years, there are likely to be many opportunities to work as a pilot. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the number of airline and commercial pilot positions to grow 13% by 2030 . This is faster than the expected average career growth.

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Despite the short-term decline in the number of active pilots, analysis shows that the civil aviation industry will require more than 260,000 new pilots over the next decade. As air travel resumes progressively over the next several years, the industry will experience upward mandatory retirement and attrition rates.

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