Will Congress Bump Airline Pilots’ Retirement Age to 67?

Sen. Lindsey Graham said to be ‘looking into’ raising the current limit beyond 65.

Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at 05:03 PM ET

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Senator Lindsey Graham is trying to drum up support for legislation that would raise the mandatory retirement age to 67. [File Photo: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. airline industry is experiencing a critical pilot shortage, leading to flight cuts and a search for solutions to fill vacancies.
Proposed measures to address the shortage include shortening pilot training hour requirements (e.g., Republic Airways' petition for 750 hours) and a potential legislative effort to raise the mandatory pilot retirement age from 65 to 67.
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) opposes raising the retirement age, citing increased safety risks due to age-related cognitive decline and health issues, supported by studies like one from EASA.

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As a critical pilot shortage continues to threaten the U.S. airline industry, carriers have reorganized routes and cut certain flights when they couldn’t find enough pilots to cover them.

Many have looked into ways of shortening the path to an airline flight deck for pilots in training. Republic Airways, a regional carrier, petitioned the FAA to lower the number of hours a pilot needs for its R-ATP program from 1,500 hours to 750.