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Pilot shortage at regional airlines threatens wider US aviation industry
A PILOT shortage is hitting mid-sized and regional airlines hard in the United States, even pushing carriers out of business, reports Agence France-Presse.
Experts now predict that the dearth of pilots could threaten the health of the broader aviation industry nationwide.
The labour shortfall has led to cancelled flights at airlines, such as, Mesa Airlines and Silver Airways.
Smaller airports have also been hit, including Redding, California, and Erie, Pennsylvania, according to figures from the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).
The staffing crunch could also constrain traffic for larger companies like United Airlines and Delta Air Lines that depend on the mid-sized companies to serve rural consumers and feed customers into their networks.
Republic Airways, which operates flights for Delta, United and American Airlines, filed for bankruptcy protection last month, citing the labour crunch.
Aviation industry insiders cite a number of factors for the drop in pilot numbers: longer working hours, contentious relations with management, fewer job protections and industry turnover with the expected retirement of some 18,000 pilots through 2022.
"Fewer pilots are willing to commit hundreds of thousands of dollars into their training and education for a career with such a limited return on investment, in what has historically been a very unstable industry," said pilot Patrick Smith, who runs an aviation blog.
Experts now predict that the dearth of pilots could threaten the health of the broader aviation industry nationwide.
The labour shortfall has led to cancelled flights at airlines, such as, Mesa Airlines and Silver Airways.
Smaller airports have also been hit, including Redding, California, and Erie, Pennsylvania, according to figures from the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).
The staffing crunch could also constrain traffic for larger companies like United Airlines and Delta Air Lines that depend on the mid-sized companies to serve rural consumers and feed customers into their networks.
Republic Airways, which operates flights for Delta, United and American Airlines, filed for bankruptcy protection last month, citing the labour crunch.
Aviation industry insiders cite a number of factors for the drop in pilot numbers: longer working hours, contentious relations with management, fewer job protections and industry turnover with the expected retirement of some 18,000 pilots through 2022.
"Fewer pilots are willing to commit hundreds of thousands of dollars into their training and education for a career with such a limited return on investment, in what has historically been a very unstable industry," said pilot Patrick Smith, who runs an aviation blog.
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