Ryanair Pilots – Two key seats to be filled for all airlines

Ryanair may be making headlines for all the wrong reasons as its handling on a shortage of available pilot hours continues and travellers are still severely inconvenienced, but perhaps there is a deeper angle to the whole pilot issue. Perhaps Ryanair in its own unique way is highlighting a bigger industry challenge. 

There is a clear shortage of commercial pilots and an increasing demand. Every day there are vacancies advertised with attractive packages attempting to entice pilots to relocate to Asia, and in some cases even allowing pilots to be based locally at home. That shortage will only grow; in the next few years, a very large proportion of current pilots will reach retirement age leaving a considerable gap of expertise that cannot be filled overnight.  

With global demand continuing to grow at 5% and above, and specific hotspots of growth in Asia, China and Latin America, the pressure is on for airlines to fill the two most important seats on the aircraft. Industry experts suggest that in the next twenty years 610,000 new pilots will be required to meet the growing demand and future aircraft deliveries forecast by major aircraft manufacturers.

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