A bipartisan cohort of U.S. senators has urged the Trump administration to support international efforts to raise the mandatory retirement age for commercial pilots from 65 to 67, according to a Reuters report.
In a July 14 letter addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Senators John Thune (R-S.D), Marsha Blackburn (R‑Tenn.), and Mark Kelly (D‑Ariz.) emphasized that expanding the retirement age, when combined with rigorous ongoing technical and medical evaluations, would preserve pilot experience and could reduce accidents.
They also pressed the United States to maintain its leadership role in civil aviation, warning that ceding influence could create an opportunity for China to sway policies on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) stage.
The senators’ appeal follows a failed 2023 congressional effort to raise the retirement ceiling domestically. Congress voted down a proposal to extend it to 67 as part of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024. Currently, ICAO rules prohibit pilots over 65 from operating flights in most countries.
Some countries—including Japan, Australia, and Canada—allow airline pilots to fly past 65, but they’re typically limited to domestic flights.
The letter from the senators calls on Rubio to champion the proposed age increase at ICAO in Montreal, where member states meet to align on flight-safety and operational standards under the umbrella of the United Nations. The U.S. ICAO mission suffered another setback with the absence of a permanent ambassador since 2022, when Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger stepped down.
The State Department has not issued a comment on the senators’ appeal.
