The worldwide commercial aviation industry will need an extra 255,000 pilots by 2027 to sustain its rapid growth and is not moving fast enough to fill the positions, according to a 10-year forecast published by training company CAE Inc (CAE.TO).
More than half of the required pilots have not yet begun training, the report adds, storing up potential problems as the industry braces for an increase in passenger air traffic that is expected to double the size of the commercial air transport industry in the next 20 years.
“Rapid fleet expansion and high pilot retirement rates create a further need to develop 180,000 first officers into new airline captains, more than in any previous decade,” said the report by CAE, which trains pilots for airlines around the world.
“The shortage of pilots is a problem today. There’s demand today, so people need to start building a strategy with us or other professional academies to be able to build that pipeline,” Nick Leontidis, CAE’s Group President for civil aviation training solutions told journalists at the Paris Airshow on Tuesday.
Rival L3 (LLL.N) also operates pilot training academies.
To meet demand, Leontidis said CAE would seek to grow its own training academy business, rather than make acquisitions.
Source: Shortage of pilots could hinder airlines’ growth | Reuters
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