US facing serious shortage of airline pilots
Washington, July 17 : The US is currently facing a serious shortage of airline pilots, particularly at the regional airline levels, according to a report.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in the report on Monday that there were about 827,000 pilots in America in 1987. Over the past three decades, that number decreased by 30 per cent, reports CNN.
During this period, there has been a tremendous increase in the demand for air travel, the report said. The International Air Transport Association predicts that, over the next 20 years, air travel will double.
Major US airlines were not yet directly experiencing the pilot shortage, according to the report.
But smaller regional airlines are experiencing this firsthand. Their schedules have been reduced and some, such as Republic, have been forced into bankruptcy as a result of inadequate staffing.
However, the industry has taken a few steps to address this problem. Regional airlines now offer much higher pay and even signing bonuses.
Meanwhile, the number of pilots supplied by the military has also dwindled. Much of this is due to the use of unmanned aerial vehicles.
In the 80s, roughly two thirds of airline pilots were former military. Recently, that percentage has dropped to less than one-third, CNN reported.
The Navy predicts a 10 per cent pilot shortage in 2020, while the Air Force predicts its own 1,000-pilot shortage by 2022.
In 2009, Congress changed the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots from 60 to 65.
A 2016 report by Boeing shows that 42 per cent of the pilots currently flying for the major airlines in the US will reach their mandatory retirement age of 65 in the next 10 years.
Congress also changed the duty time rules in 2010 to mitigate pilot fatigue issues. This change meant airlines had to increase their pilot staffing by 5 to 8 per cent in order to cover the same schedule.
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Putin in close contact with Gulf leaders to facilitate de-escalation: Kremlin
Moscow (PTI): Russian President Vladimir Putin is making all possible efforts to de-escalate the crisis in the Gulf and is in close contact with the regional leaders as Iran is retaliating with massive strikes on the US facilities and infrastructure on their territories, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
The US and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran on Saturday, assassinating 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alongside family members, including his daughter and grandchildren. Since then, Iran has targeted multiple US bases in the surrounding Gulf States.
"Putin will certainly make every effort to facilitate at least a minor easing of tensions. In this regard, we discussed with virtually all of our interlocutors yesterday," the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"Taking advantage of the dialogue we maintain with the Iranian leadership, (President) Putin will convey his deep concern regarding the strikes on their infrastructure to our colleagues in Iran," he added.
According to the Kremlin, Putin spoke by telephone with leaders of Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
In his telephonic conversation with Crown Prince and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, Putin discussed the escalating situation in the region as a result of the American-Israeli armed aggression against Iran.
“Both sides expressed serious concern over the real risks of escalation of the conflict, which has already affected several Arab countries and is fraught with catastrophic consequences. In this context, Vladimir Putin underscored the urgent need to resolve the current extremely dangerous situation through political and diplomatic means,” the Kremlin said.
On Monday, Putin also had telephonic contacts with the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who currently chairs the Gulf Cooperation Council, Emir of the State of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“Exchange of views was held regarding the unprecedented escalation around Iran as a result of US and Israeli aggression, which is bringing the entire region to the brink of a full-scale war with unpredictable consequences. Sides underscored the need for a swift cessation of hostilities to prevent the situation from spiralling completely out of control and to return it to a political and diplomatic framework,” the Kremlin said.
The current developments, in particular, threaten the security of many Arab states with which Russia maintains friendly relations.
Given this, President Putin reaffirmed Russia's readiness to use all available means to actively contribute to stabilising the situation in the region, the Kremlin said, adding that contacts with the Gulf leaders will continue.
