After years of concern that the world’s airlines faced a coming pilot shortage, it appears that the opposite has happened. Largely as a result of the pandemic, more than half the world’s trained pilots aren’t flying, and many may never fly again.
A joint study by an aviation publisher and a recruitment company found that about 43% of the world’s commercial pilots are flying for a living, 30% are unemployed, 17% furloughed, and 10% working in other jobs, not necessarily in aviation. Over 80% of those not flying said they would accept a pay cut to get a new job.
Even pilots who are working are feeling the effects according to the chair of the recruitment company: “We can see the effect the pandemic has had on employed pilots too. Large numbers are feeling insecure about their jobs and an increased number are planning to look for new roles this year, as well as many feeling less valued by their employers.“
The British Airline Pilots’ Association has warned would-be new pilots not to pay for training for the foreseeable future, saying it would be irresponsible to encourage paying upwards of £100,000 with so little chance of a job. In Switzerland, Swiss Airlines is looking into whether pilots could be retrained as train drivers; Swiss rail operators have repeatedly had to cancel trains for lack of staff.
