Is 24 too old for a pilot?

Some students ask themselves, “Am I too old to become a pilot?” and wonder how long they will be able to pursue a career in the air. No one is too old to attend flight school, as long as they are physically capable of operating an aircraft.



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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.

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Meet the age requirements 16 years of age to obtain your pilot certificate. 17 years old to earn a private pilot certificate. 18 years old to be eligible for a commercial pilot license. 23 years old to qualify for an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate.

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The reality is that you only become too old to start flight training when you can no longer hold a class one medical. However, if you are starting your training over the age of around forty, what you are looking to achieve takes some serious consideration.

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How Long Does it Take to Become a Pilot? It takes two months to become a pilot and earn your private pilot license. To become an airline pilot, it takes two years to gain the required 1,500 hours flight time.

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The average age of airline pilots is 40+ years years old, representing 61% of the airline pilot population.

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It depends on the speed of the airplane. If the plane has speed zero, then they will return older. If they travel around the Earth at the speed for which time goes equally slow as the time on Earth, then they will return with the same age as the people who stayed on the ground.

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With the responsibility of steering aircraft worth millions and the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, under their care, the demand for pilots is on the rise. This also explains why pilots are one of the most trusted professions in America.

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Annual Pilot Salary Range
How Much Do Pilots Make an Hour? » According to The May 2021 Occupational Outlook Handbook, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the salary for commercial pilots is $99,640 per year. The median annual wage for airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers is $202,180.

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There is a large number of Airlines that pay for pilot training by offering cadetships and scholarships, such as American Airlines, British Airways and Qantas, as well as hundreds of non-airline aviation groups such as AOPA, the Honorable Company of Air Pilots, and the Women's Pilots Association (to name a few), which ...

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The average Delta Airlines pilot earns $192,000 with top-earners making $526,000. American Airlines pilots earn an average salary of $118,000, with some pilots earning in excess of $700,000. Most importantly, pilot salaries continue to increase.

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While commercial airline pilots are currently mandated to retire at 65, these same pilots that are forced to retire can still fly corporate and charter jets beyond the age of 65, said Representative Troy Nehls, a Republican, adding the change could help address a pilot shortage.

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“Safety considerations drove the establishment of the current international standard of age 65 mandatory retirement, and raising the pilot retirement age would introduce additional risk into commercial aviation,” said Capt. Ed Sicher, the Allied Pilots Association's president.

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