A pilot controls the thrust controls of a United Airlines Boeing 787 at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, March 9, 2023.
Ed Jones | AFP | Getty Images
A House panel voted Wednesday to raise the mandatory retirement age for commercial airline pilots from 65 to 67 as the industry faces a persistent pilot shortage.
Members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted 32 to 31 to include the measure in proposed legislation to reauthorize the FAA program for a five-year period.
“It’s a modest increase, but it gives us some time to form a long-term solution,” said Faye Malarkey Black, president of the Regional Airlines Association, which represents smaller airlines and serves major airlines.
The association pushed for the bill to stem the loss of pilots as airlines ramped up flight schedules and pilot hiring after scaling back during the Covid-19 pandemic by urging pilot buyouts. Airlines have blamed pilot shortages for reduced service, especially in smaller cities.
The last time Congress raised the retirement age for pilots was in 2007, when it was raised from 60 to 65.
The committee voted 63-0 on Wednesday on the proposed FAA reauthorization bill, but it now faces a full House vote. It’s unclear whether the new retirement age provision will make it into the final version of the bill, or pass through a vote in both chambers.
Airline Pilots Association, the largest pilot union in the country, representing pilots of major airlines such as delta and Unityagainst the measure.
“The hasty decision to amend amendments to change the statutory pilot retirement age without consulting the agencies responsible for safety and without studying the potential impact of such a change, as has been done elsewhere, is a politically driven choice that betrays the confidence of the aviation industry. basic understanding of operations, pilot occupation and safety,” ALPA said in a statement.