A serious pilot shortage decimated small community air service over the past decade, and with half the workforce facing mandatory Age 67 retirement, more loss is possible. “Wages have climbed, and career interest is high, but barriers to entry are higher. The highest of all is the cost of flight training – and the inability to finance it. These barriers put pilot careers squarely out of reach for working families.”
“Accredited, Part 141 flight training programs—often embedded within university programs—add around $90,000 of additional costs to a four-year degree. These are not optional extras; they are Federal Aviation Administration required flight hours, certifications, licenses, and safety benchmarks,” said Faye Malarkey Black. “Students in these programs are need the same access to the same financial tools their peers in law, medicine, and pharmacy already have.”
Malarkey Black also emphasized the benefit of this recognition extends beyond aspiring pilots and small communities, noting that high wage pilot jobs allow for discretionary income and consumer spending, driving a ripple effect for even broader economic growth.
Read the full statement here.
Tags: Faye Malarkey Black, Regional Airline Association (RAA)
