House bill raises retirement age to end pilot shortage

Lawmakers in Washington say they've found a solution for the pilot shortage by increasing the retirement age, a move that major pilot associations oppose out of safety concerns.

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – Lawmakers in Washington say they've found a solution for the pilot shortage by increasing the retirement age, a move that major pilot associations oppose out of safety concerns.

Lawmakers are celebrating a bipartisan agreement to fund the Federal Aviation Administration for the next five years, which they say will also tackle major issues like “addressing workforce shortages in the aviation sector,” according to Rep. Don Davis (D-NC).

The legislation cleared the House on Thursday and now heads to the Senate. It includes a provision to raise the pilot retirement age from 65 to 67, a move that Senator Lindsey Graham says will "allow thousands of experienced and well-trained pilots to stay on the job."

However, Captain Dennis Tajer says while the idea sounds good, the reality is different.

“Issues that may not keep someone from working as an attorney or as a doctor, keep you out of the flight deck,” Tajer said.

Tajer has been a pilot for over 30 years and is the spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association. He says the proposed retirement age increase would create other challenges.

“The real killer in this, the international group that handles flying, ICAO, does not allow flying outside of individual countries beyond age 65,” Tajer explained.

Tajer says that means international pilots may be forced to re-train on smaller domestic aircraft once they hit 65.

Additionally, pilot associations oppose increasing the retirement age. Along with Democratic Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who vows to try to stop the changes.

“I will continue to work with the Senate to ensure that we listen to our pilots,” Jackson Lee said.