Retirement age debate resurfaces in general aviation
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recently rejected a proposal to raise the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots from 65 to 67. This demand comes shortly after the International Air Transport Association (IATA) presented it at the ICAO’s 42nd General Assembly in Montreal as a response to ease global pilot shortages.[1]
IATA, which represents 350 airlines flying 80% of the world’s routes asked ICAO to amend the Annex 1 retirement age from 65 to 67 in a multi pilot plane, with the safeguard that at least one pilot in the cockpit must be under 65. Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general, contended that the proposal ‘reflects longer, healthier careers while keeping safety safeguards in place’.[2] This would not be the first time that the organisation has raised the age of pilots. Previously, in 2006, the age was raised from 60 to 65, with the US Federal Aviation Administration, FAA reporting no accidents linked to health.[3]
Furthermore, many jurisdictions like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand already have these flexible age requirements in place and have not reported any safety concerns. Some critics have expressed that age alone is a poor measure for risk. Data suggest that substance abuse, or mental health issues more likely to cause aviation accidents than age itself.
To this end, ICAO again has maintained its position that the evidence is not enough and ‘medical science is inconclusive on the effects of raising the age limit for pilots’.[4]
Essentially, allowing experienced pilots to fly two more years would not only help stabilise the workforce, without comprising safety, but also buy time for airlines to replenish the deficit. Boeing, in their annual 20-year forecast at EAA Air Venture, projected that over the next two decades they require 660,000 pilots to fly and maintain the global commercial aviation fleet over the next 20 years.[5] Therefore, forcing out experienced pilots would not just discriminatory but can arguably be reckless and short sighted.
Contrarily, this dispute raises questions about broader arguments over retirement ages in other sectors. Government often raises these ages to reflect longer life expectancy and exponentially reduce the long-term costs of pensions to taxpayers. These policies have a greater effect on poor people with health issues. Unlike wealthier individuals, they have shorter life expectancies and will receive fewer years of pension on average. In the aviation sector, however, the FAA rules are stricter. They dictate ‘Class 1 Medicals’ to undergo six-monthly screening after age 60, with ‘waivers available for conditions such as psychological disorder, alcoholism, or even surgery recovery’.[6]
Although ICAO has rejected the proposal for now, the pilot shortage and pressure from airlines suggest it is highly likely to resurface at their next assembly.
© Whitestone Chambers 2025
[1] International Civil Aviation Organization, ‘Proposal to raise the multi-pilot commercial air transport pilot age limit to 67’ (2025) < https://www.icao.int/sites/default/files/Meetings/a42/Documents/WP/wp_349_en.pdf> accessed on 30 September 2025.
[2] IATA, Willie Walsh’s Report on the Air Transport Industry at the 81st IATA AGM, 2025 < https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/2025-speeches/2025-06-02-01/> accessed on 30 September 2025.
[3] Fred Schneyer, ‘FAA Mulling 65 as New Pilot Retirement Age’ (December, 2006) Plansponsor <. https://www.plansponsor.com/faa-mulling-65-as-new-pilot-retirement-age/> accessed on 30 September 2025
[4] Ryan Ewing, What Different Nations are saying about raising pilot retirement age, 2025, Flying, < https://www.flyingmag.com/what-different-nations-are-saying-about-raising-pilot-retirement-age/> accessed on 30 September, 2025.
[5] Boeing, Pilot and Technician Outlook 2025-2044, <https://www.boeing.com/content/dam/boeing/boeingdotcom/market/assets/downloads/2025-pto-download.pdf? >
[6] EPAS Leadership Team, Opinion: Pilot Groups’ Empty Rhetoric Masking Politics, 2025, < https://www.flyingmag.com/opinion-pilot-groups-empty-rhetoric-masking-politics/> accessed on 30 September 2025.