Can pilots grow beards?

In most large commercial airlines, pilots are allowed to have facial hair, as are the flight attendants. However, this facial hair does need to be kept tidy (neatly trimmed) or stylish (longer beard styles) and shouldn't make the aviation pilot look less professional.



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There are exceptions to this rule, but for the most part, if you want to be an airline pilot, you'll need to be clean-shaven. So why the restriction? Well, it all has to do with safety. Beards can interfere with the proper seal of a pilot's oxygen mask.

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Plus, the idea that an oxygen mask might not fit a bearded pilot as well as a clean-shaven one persists. The FAA published an Advisory Circular (AC 120-43) in 1987 that states, ” Bearded crewmembers should be aware that oxygen mask efficiency is reduced by the presence of facial hair.”

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Some countries and airlines require pilots to submit to breath tests as part of reporting for work, while other countries use hair samples for drug testing in addition to urine.

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Airplane Pilot gender statistics 3.4% of airplane pilots are women and 96.6% of airplane pilots are men.

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There are no specific height restrictions for pilots under FAA rules. Flight schools and commercial airlines accept pilots for training as long as they are physically able to reach the controls and obtain a full rudder deflection in the aircraft they will operate.

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So long as you can operate the controls of your aircraft and see out clearly, there's no reason why height, weight or age should be an obstacle.

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