Senators Push for Increased Loan Aid for Student Pilots

Lawmakers ask the Education Department to define aviation and flight training as ‘professional degree’ programs.

Zach Vasile

Thursday, October 30, 2025 at 07:00 AM ET

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Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

The FAA issued 69,503 student pilot certificates in 2023, up 24 percent from 2022. [Credit: iStock]

Key Takeaways:

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is urging the Department of Education to classify aviation and flight training as "professional degrees" under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
This reclassification would grant aviation students access to higher federal loan caps, addressing the substantial training costs (often exceeding $80,000-$100,000 beyond tuition) that current undergraduate limits fail to cover.
The effort is strongly supported by the Regional Airline Association and various aviation industry groups, emphasizing its critical role in bolstering the pilot workforce and ensuring national economic growth and air service.

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A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is pushing to give students enrolled in aviation programs and FAA-certified Part 141 flight training schools increased access to federal loan aid.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law in July, sets up new lifetime borrowing caps for graduate and professional degree students. These limits, which are higher than those used for undergraduate programs, apply to fields such as medicine, law, and veterinary science.