Yahoo Finance Europe needs 6,000 new pilots a year for next two decades, warns Boeing
Airlines in Europe must hire 6,000 pilots a year for the next two decades as demand for jetting off abroad rebounds strongly, Boeing has said.
European carriers will need to hire 122,000 new pilots between now and 2041, the American planemaker said. A similar number is required in both North America and China.
Demand for qualified pilots may struggle to keep up with supply as the world faces a shortage of flight instructors.
“Because the industry already was heading toward a global pilot shortage before the pandemic, many airlines instituted cadet pilot programs to fill their talent pipelines,” Boeing said in a new report looking at aviation staffing levels.
“Operators that paused or cancelled these programs during the pandemic will likely resume their focus on new pilot development. Concurrently, the industry as a whole must address a global shortage of certified flight instructors.”
The warning on staffing levels comes as British Airways pilots demand the airline rips up a salary sacrifice scheme that was agreed during the pandemic as part of a plan to reduce the number of forced redundancies.
Pilots union Balpa remains in talks with bosses at the carrier to replace a scheme that reduces pre-pandemic salaries with a deal that incorporates inflationary rises.
The Boeing report also forecast that European carriers would need to hire 207,000 new cabin crew over the next 19 years - the highest staffing requirement of any region.
Airlines have struggled to re-hire cabin crew that were laid off during the pandemic as bookings surge this summer.
EasyJet was forced to remove seats from its aircraft in order to reduce the number of cabin crew required on board, the Telegraph revealed in May, after suffering a shortfall in staff.
British Airways, meanwhile, began offering £1,000 “golden hello” bonuses if cabin crew switched from their current airline to the UK flag carrier.
Ryanair is currently facing upheaval among its on-board teams based in Spain. The Spanish cabin crew union announced on Wednesday that members will strike for four days every week between August 8 and next January.
Union leader Lidia Aransanz said: “As the company has been unable to listen to the workers, we have been forced to call new strike days.”
The unions are demanding 22 days of holiday and two extra months payment per year to comply with Spanish legislation, she added.
A Ryanair spokesman said: “Ryanair has recently reached an agreement with the main Spanish CCOO union on pay, rosters and allowances for its Spanish cabin crew. Recent strikes by USO/SITCPLA have been poorly supported with minimal effect. Ryanair has operated over 45,000 flights to/from Spain over the last 3 months with less than 1% affected by crewing and Ryanair expects minimal (if any) disruption this winter.”
