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World pilot shortage raises big safety concerns

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The aviation industry is facing its worst pilot shortage ever, forcing airlines to schedule pilots to their max. Recently a report emerged that two pilots flying a Boeing 737-800 for Ethiopian Airlines had both fallen asleep for nearly half the flight... (www.aviationweekly.org) More...

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M20ExecDriver
M20ExecDriver 7
Economics 101, not enough of a product (pilots) price (pay) needs to increase. The days of paying 25k for an commuter pilot set the stage. That and majors going bankrupt and throwing the bone to longtime employees who eventually jumped at the retirement packages.
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DonDengler
DonDengler 13
Just cutback schedules. And there won’t be a crew shortage.
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sledogpilot
Duane Mader 9
Maybe not the whole solution but yes, don’t try to sustain what doesn’t work.
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Highflyer1950
Highflyer1950 14
yes, having to move more people with fewer aircraft! Good thing manufacturer’s make aircraft in all sizes. So what went wrong? Not to take anything away from Truckers, taxi, bus or train drivers, ferry boat captains etc., but instead of 4 flights a day to a destination, fly two full bigger aircraft. If they're still lined up out the door, increase the ticket price and forget about charging for bags. Charge appropriately and your problem customers will weed themselves out……period. Get back to the sanity of air travel and leave the idiot trash for the custodians to take out. When you lower the standards, you lower everything, not just price. Raise the standards and everyone wins…….a tide floats all boats.
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SkyAware123
SkyAware123 3
Even a 5 year old would come to that conclusion. it's so simple.
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jeffinsydney
jeff slack 4
The problem is the US airlines are being run by 3 year olds, we have another 2 years before they will be old enough to make sensible decisions like the ones suggested in this thread......
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w2bsa
w2bsa 11
It’s not just the airlines. It’s the entire industry. There are personnel shortages in all aspects of airline and airport operations. Folks retired during the pandemic because they could and because of forced personnel reductions and now these folks are not returning. The airlines and all parts of airport operations are having to hire and train new people to do all of those jobs that folks retired from. I was in a different industry, Information Technology, I got a great retirement package and never looked back. Many of these folks got the same and they aren’t looking back.
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KineticRider
Randy Marco 6
Simply Boomers retiring.
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bentwing60
bentwing60 1
nail on the head, and over the target, hence the negative feedback, (down votes), on this thread. this site, that should some day be assigned the 7500 code, has fallen under the spell of the ever malicious Rom/Com bots. of the left.

for those that have Never been in a cockpit or entered a transponder code, 7500 is the universal ICAO "hijacked transponder code"!
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jbermo
jbermo 1
Huh?
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DonDengler
DonDengler -1
Not totally true. Not when the Govt was handing out free money. It was a windfall of all windfalls and why we are paying for it today.
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sledogpilot
Duane Mader 2
Paid for by inflating the money supply. For Everyone, every dollar, from your wallet to your 401k is worth less. The most insidious tax is inflation.
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DonDengler
DonDengler -9
President Trump has said this many times since needle nose took office creating this crime called Bidenflation. He said “this is the largest tax increase in history “. What you said is no revelation!
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MarcusGiddens
Marcus Giddens 2
Sad mate, just sad.
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SkyAware123
SkyAware123 5
I bet they al regret getting rid of those 747's and 380's now. move more people with less planes.
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loopgroup1
Craig Northacker 5
My father was a flight engineer for Pan Am and told us it was not that uncommon on long flights laterally for a pilot to fall asleep, but that they usually would tag off to make sure someone was awake. Those flights spanning a number of time zones are tough.
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jbermo
jbermo 4
Yes, but sometimes I would wake up and find the others asleep anyway.
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bentwing60
bentwing60 2
ditto! usually at the crack of dawn.
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djjamar
Jamar Jackson 3
Just bring back the a380 and 747. Instead of stuffing us all on a320s and 737s
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jbermo
jbermo 3
Very hard to keep up with today's rising population pressure. Someday, flying 2200 miles LA to NY simply to attend aunt Tillies birthday party may become less convenient.
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nathansthepilot
Nathan Cox 3
As long as airlines can make money pushing metal around and are still able to fill the seats, they will keep doing what works. Remember that list are Publicly traded companies. It’s in the best interest for their shareholders to make as much money as they possibly can. It will keep going on like this until the pilots give, or there is a major accident.
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tiger130
Anthony Galvez 3
I observed through the years that aviation sure didn't advertised during the sixties until recently. I realized that was short term strategic thinking! Airline companies felt that they would have an inexhaustive supply of military pilots so? Now that reservoir has just dried up due to the military requiring their pilots to remain in the pilot seat for ten years! NOW they are advertising but not as much as an advertisement for a car!
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wmmoseley
mike moseley 4
Interesting, and I thought is was because of the requirements to get the vaccine. Maybe it's the long hours and substandard pay. But paying pilots, and everyone else, more is a primary cause of inflation. Pick your poison i guess, good paying jobs or inflation.
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jeepsahara2008
Marie Johnson 4
Define shortage then we might be able to have a factual conversation.
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flyguy6956
Guy Parker 3
Just 70 years too late!
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ed7778
Dennis Stockton 3
Time to hire off the streets for inclusiveness, diversity, and social justice.
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MichaelDealey
Michael Dealey 5
Aren't they already doing that in the ATC realm? Why not pilots?
https://mslegal.org/2019/02/fight-escalates-over-race-based-hiring-program-at-the-faa/
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jbsimms
James Simms 1
Almost came to bite us w/Eva Flight 15 on 16 Dec 2016 out of LAX.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=192082
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MichaelDealey
Michael Dealey 2
Good grief. All I can think of is "No, your *other* left".
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df1sp
HP Baumeister 2
I am always amazed how that chorus of anti-vaxers, pro-trumpers (no matter what the guy is and has been doing to pull down this country) keeps popping up it's ugly head even in an community like aviation where one would think everything is solidly fact-based.
Sad! And unfortunately symptomatic of what's really ailing this country these days.
Can't we keep just focused on aviation here?
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MichaelDealey
Michael Dealey 0
Many of the people you are calling "anti-vaxers" are not anti-vaccine at all. We're anti FORCED injection of an untested substance which doesn't even meet the criteria of a vaccine.
Since we now know that these shots do absolutely nothing to prevent you from:

- Contracting Covid,
- Spreading Covid,
- Getting sick, hospitalized, and even dying from Covid,

they cannot be called "vaccines". They're just a medical intervention that hijack the mechanics of cellular protein synthesis, to produce a toxin - with no known "off" switch.

And the reason this subject keeps "popping up it's ugly head" is because it's the elephant in the room no one wants to acknowledge. There is a definite link between the lack of pilots and this forced vaccination program. Sorry if you are unwilling to entertain that thought - but it doesn't change the truth of the matter. It's not the *only* reason - but it's still a factor, and not a trivial one.

P.S. I hope you're happy with the unity, peace, economic success and energy independence under Joe. Maybe he'll waive flight school tuition too (something that might actually be useful).
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SkyAware123
SkyAware123 2
The moment you force this shit on people is the moment your government had turned into a tyrannical 'government'
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bentwing60
bentwing60 3
They do and they have and the lies of the left know no bounds! (show anyway)
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SkyAware123
SkyAware123 -1
I'm always amazed how there's still a single person left who defends all the failures demento joe has had.
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jeffinsydney
jeff slack 0
That's right comrade, you may yet get to sing the russian national anthem and you can thank trumpty dumpty for the loss of what was the USA.
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MichaelDealey
Michael Dealey 2
You're living in a fantasy land, concocted for you by the leftist media.

A more truthful statement would be: "you may yet get to sing the CHINESE national anthem".. and that will be thanks to Chinese puppet Joe and his illustrious son.

Or haven't you been keeping up with the actual facts?
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bentwing60
bentwing60 1
Is there even a shred of recognition in your 'Heart', let alone mind, that Your Aussie' dictat rulers installed all of the lockdown edicts of the coof state? To include police and military control of the dissenting masses.

"comrade", not!
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EtienneDaniels
Etienne Daniels 1
Sorry but I don't agree, in Thailand alone 2000+ pilots are without a job, and If you add the students that finished within the last 5 years there are probably a couple thousand more. They are ICAO licensed. THai, Bangkok airways, Air Asia, X Air Asia scoot, Nok scoot, Nok they all had to fire rated pilots in order to survive or after they closed down. Only Vietjet is an exception but they let young pilots pay for the rating without a guarantee of a job. Something that is not allowed in other parts of the world.
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EtienneDaniels
Etienne Daniels 1
After reading all the comments I have the impression that many US people still think that the US is the world. Most be like baseball :) world series with only American clubs :)
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DonDengler
DonDengler 0
This is just more politic crap. I am done. Have a nice day folks
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pilotblake
Blake Van 1
Can't believe all the MEGA Shit being smeared hear, this isn't the place for it, go to the right site.
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eshawl
Eric Shawl 0
The shortage exist for company's looking for those who have more than 1500 hrs. Did anybody think about the surplus of pilots who have less than 1500 hrs? it's unbelievable! Insurance companies are the driving force here that put these high hour requirements out there. If there is someway to utilize the pilot that has less than 1500 hrs I believe there wouldn't be much of a shortage.
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Highflyer1950
Highflyer1950 6
Well to use your reasoning…….what insurance company in their right mind would insure an airline that staff the pilot end of an aircraft with “beginners”? That’s about all you would get with 1200 hr. wonders. And BTW, there are some pretty damn good aviators out there with lower time…….we used to call them “naturals, with good hands & feet, just not enough of them. The airlines got themselves in this mess and they're the ones who have got to get themselves out of it. Senior drivers told them that decades ago but just figured they would raise the retirement age…….which solved some immediate problems,, but only short term.
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E1craZ4life
Edward Bardes 5
The 1500 hour rule was implemented in response to Colgan Air 3407 in February 2009.
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markburka45
Mark Burka -4
There won’t be a pilot shortage after the total economic crash which is coming soon.
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MichaelDealey
Michael Dealey 2
Quite true. No one will be able to afford to fly. Hell, there may not even be any fuel.

This is the thing that leftist/socialists can't seem to understand.
They think they'll get free schooling, free medical care, free food, free everything - but fail to realize that under socialism, there won't BE any free stuff to pass out.
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KineticRider
Randy Marco 9
That's a COMPLETE LIE!

Time to put your Aluhut on and go back to your cave.
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trentenjet
trentenjet -7
Quit drinking the Kool-Aid and wake up you’re an idiot
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MichaelDealey
Michael Dealey -5
Is it a lie?
I mean, all you have to do is google it.
You people who refuse to even consider that the vaccine mandates (and pilots' refusal to comply) has *nothing* to do with the shortage are just being intellectually dishonest.

Also denying that we're losing pilots to death and disability after the shots is just more denial.
The stories are out there, but you refuse to look.

A lot of people here are of the mindset that, if it didn't appear on the nightly news, it's not true.

NEWSFLASH: The truth about most things *never* appears on the nightly news, especially if it's related to a pharmaceutical issue, since the media is fundamentally owned by big pharma.

But keep telling yourself it's all a lie.
Time is an amazing thing.
Just look at what we've learned in the past couple of months from the CDC and Deborah Birx.
Or did you skip over that news because it contradicts your beliefs?

I'm not saying there aren't other factors at play here, but it is interesting that this whole issue of shortages that was "known to be coming" just happened to coincide perfectly with the pandemic and the vaccine question. Almost like it was timed.
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Highflyer1950
Highflyer1950 2
90% of the pilots flying for the last 40 years have been vaccinated, so go peddle your BS somewhere else.
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MichaelDealey
Michael Dealey 2
They've been vaccinated With traditional vaccines using attenuated (or dead) viral material.
That's not what we're dealing with here.
These Covid shots do not meet the medical, pharmacological or even legal definition of a vaccine.
This is why the WHO was forced to change the definition just to accommodate these shots.

Your reply is disingenuous and an attempt to treat two completely different issues as the same thing.
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jeffinsydney
jeff slack -2
sadly you need help
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MichaelDealey
Michael Dealey 3
I need help because you can't handle facts?

You'd think that someone living under the most draconian police state in the "free" world, would have a clue about what is actually going on.

I'm sure you were a beacon of hope, insight, logic to your fellow citizens as many of them were hauled off to detention camps or arrested for simply sitting in the sunshine.

Now you know what *you* would have done in 1930s Germany.
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