The Aviation Industry Must Address the Plight of the Mechanic

The effects of the pandemic, coupled with inflation, and lost or slowed wage gains, sounds an alarm that should be heeded.

Michael Wildes

Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 07:58 AM ET

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A lack of qualified airframe and powerplant (A&P) technicians could halt the complete rebound of the aviation industry. [File photo: Adobe Stock]

Key Takeaways:

Despite a strong rebound in commercial air travel, the aviation industry faces a looming shortage of qualified Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) technicians, which threatens a complete recovery.
This technician shortage is primarily driven by stagnant wage growth since the pandemic, which has been severely outpaced by high inflation, creating a significant "wage deficit."
High costs associated with A&P education, especially in private institutions, and increasing student loan debt further deter new entrants and lead qualified graduates to seek employment outside the aviation sector.
To prevent a worsening workforce crisis, the industry must prioritize improving technician wages and addressing educational affordability to effectively recruit and retain talent.

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A report from the Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC), a group that tracks the talent pipeline for aviation technicians, estimates that commercial air transport passenger traffic will rebound between 2023 and 2024. Recent TSA passenger data corroborates that, showing that as of April 19 this year, the 1.9 million passengers that passed through checkpoints across the U.S. represented 88 percent of people who traveled at the same time in 2019, when travel was at an all-time high.

Yet, amid the rebound in travel, unless the industry finds a way to address one particular problem, an insufficient talent pool of qualified airframe and powerplant (A&P) technicians could halt the complete rebound.