470000 Pilots Down from 490000 in 2012
30000 female pilots up from 26000 in 2012
121270 flight instructors
9100 female flight instructors
Mechanics 313093 Down from 337775 in 2012
8200 female mechanics up from 7730 in 2012
39,000,000 flights by the airlines in 2019 prior to pandemic
23,000,000 flights by the airlines in 2004
Boeing estimates airlines globally will need to hire 600,000-plus pilots over the next several decades as demand for air travel continues to grow
The average age of A&P mechanics in the field right now is 30-50 years old, and over 20% of technicians are over 64 years old, according to the Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC) report. This means that about 35% of the industry will be eligible for retirement in the next 2-5 years.
Boeing projects in its 2016 Pilot and Technician Outlook that 679,000 new maintenance technicians will be needed to maintain the world’s airlines over the next 20 years. Airlines in North America specifically will require 127,000 maintenance personnel, the report said.
According to the ATEC report, enrollment in all Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) schools totals nearly 17,800, but the program’s capacity is more than 34,000. And while A&P program capacity has increased by 2 percent in the last 18 months, enrollment has decreased by 2 percent.
