Crisis in the Cockpit: Inside the nationwide pilot shortage
It’s a staffing crisis in the sky – not enough pilots to fly to an increasing amount of planes in the air.
“The pilot shortage is here and it’s reaching crisis proportions very quickly,” said Regional Airline Association President Faye Malarkey Black.
For passengers, this could mean more delays, cancellations, fewer flights, and even higher fares.
At Yuma International Airport, the pilot shortage hasn’t affected the airport directly but it is one of the many reasons that has forced them to shift their operations over the past few years.
“For us, the impacts happen on the regional side of things as pilots time out or have delays,” said Yuma International Airport Director Gladys Brown. “Which means customers start complaining since they can’t get in and out of Yuma as fast as they want.”
By “time out,” Brown is referring to the baby boomer pilots. Around 50 percent of the pilots flying now are approaching the mandatory retirement age of 65.
“That creates drastic issues since you have attrition and turn over happening because of age,” Brown said.
The airlines most affected are those small, regional airlines like Hawaii-based Mokulele Airlines, which flies round trips from the Imperial County Airport (IPL) in Imperial to Los Angeles International (LAX).
People are flying like never before with nearly four billion people worldwide and rising fast. But there is also a shortage of pilots like never before.
“We are facing an unprecedented demand when supply is at an all-time low,” said Black.
Thirty-one-year-old Mokulele Airlines pilot Shane O’Brien has seen how the shortage has affected the industry.
“I have definitely seen the demand,” said O’Brien. “From pilots coming out of training all the way to the major legacies [airlines] who are hiring more and more each year.”
The problem is unless a pilot is trained in the military, the process of getting a commercial license can cost a small fortune.
Yuma native Andre Muñoz is going through that process right now. He is currently at the Arizona State University’s flight school after getting his private pilot license in Somerton.
“After my two years at ASU, I will be around $120,000 in debt,” said Munoz. “And it could be double that if I don’t pay it off in 10 to 15 years.”
Besides, the starting pay isn’t always attractive. Regional airlines start with a salary of around $50,000 while the big airlines pay around $113,000. This is the price those wanting to live in the sky are willing to pay.
“I could not see myself doing anything else other than flying airlines,” said O’Brien.
For Brown, however, that money is not a cost but an investment into their future. As for the solution, she thinks it lies with the youth.
“I think what we need to do and focus on so that the industry itself can backfill as we have retirement is bring attention to the occupation to those who are in grade and high school,” Brown said.
Major airlines are offering hefty bonuses and incentive packages to get pilots on board. But Boeing is still projecting aviation will have a demand of almost 800,000 pilots by 2037.
