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 pushing to reclassify aviation and flight training programs as "professional degrees" to grant students increased access to higher federal loan caps.
Currently, the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" provides higher lifetime borrowing limits for professional degrees (e.g., medicine, law) but ambiguously excludes aviation, despite its high training costs that often exceed $80,000-$100,000 beyond standard tuition.
This initiative is strongly backed by the aviation industry, including the Regional Airline Association, who emphasize its importance for strengthening the pilot workforce, addressing pilot retirements, and supporting the nation's 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.