Union Urges ‘Back-to-Basics’ Approach to Pilot Skills

ALPA vice president doubles down on hand-flying, training quality, and technology’s role in safety.

Ryan Ewing

Saturday, December 06, 2025 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Boeing 737 flight deck [Credit: Shutterstock/Atosan]

Key Takeaways:

The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) is calling for a renewed emphasis on fundamental manual flying skills for pilots, citing safety data that shows an erosion of hands-on proficiency due to increased automation.
ALPA's First Vice President Wendy Morse advocates for pilots to regularly "go back to our roots" by hand-flying aircraft to maintain essential skills throughout their careers.
The union strongly opposes single-pilot airline operations, promoting its "Safety Starts With Two" campaign and criticizing proposals to reduce cockpit crews due to safety concerns.
ALPA views technology and AI as valuable tools for supporting pilot decision-making and data analysis but stresses the critical need for careful monitoring to ensure data accuracy and human oversight.

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The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) is calling for a renewed emphasis on fundamental flying skills as automation becomes more common in air carrier operations.

In a recent interview at the Skift Aviation Forum in Fort Worth, Texas, ALPA first vice president Wendy Morse, a Boeing 787 captain, said the union is advocating for pilots to “go back to our roots” by maintaining strong manual-flying proficiency throughout their careers.