Airlines across the United States are scrambling amid the pilot shortage as they struggle to find more pilots.
After the pandemic hit the country, several trainings for new pilots have been slowed down. Many aging pilots have opted for early retirements amid the reduced travel.
In an official statement released by United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby in April, he revealed that “the pilot shortage for the industry is real, and most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plans because there simply aren’t enough pilots, at least not for the next five-plus years.”
The crisis has also worsened due to early retirement packages amid the COVID-19 travel reduction.
“I feel like I walked away at the pinnacle,” a former captain said.
“We never fathomed attrition levels like this. If we don’t fly our airplanes, we lose money. You saw our quarterly numbers.” Mesa CEO Jonathan Ornstein told NBC News.
