Age 60 Rule for Pilots May Be Grounded
By: Chad Hudnall; Source: AARP Bulletin Date Posted: 2007-01-17 11:19:00-05:00
After nearly five decades of being forced into retirement at age 60, U.S. commercial airline pilots may soon be able to remain at the controls until 65.
Citing lack of evidence that healthy older pilots are riskier than their younger peers, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)—the United Nations agency that sets aviation standards for most countries—has ruled that a pilot can fly until age 65 as long as another pilot under 60 is in the cockpit.
Only the United States, France, Pakistan and Colombia don't automatically recognize the ruling, but U.S. Department of Transportation sources say that Federal Aviation Administration chief Marion Blakey won't push to keep the age-60 limit the agency set in 1959. AARP has urged the FAA to change its limit.
"We're getting a lot of help from that ICAO rule," says Bert Yetman, a retired Southwest Airlines pilot and president of the Professional Pilots Federation, formed to fight the FAA age limit. "I've been at this for 16 years, but this time it's going through for sure."
Many pilots want to work beyond age 60; some who were forced into retirement were hit especially hard when airline bankruptcies devastated their pensions. Still, their own union, the Air Line Pilots Association, will continue to fight the change, says spokesman Pete Janhunen. Fifty-six percent of the union's members favor keeping the limit in place, mostly because younger pilots want to be able to move into the higher-paying jobs of their older colleagues.
Congress is likely to pass legislation to raise the retirement age this year.
The new policy is one consequence of a global shortage of pilots. Congressional support for raising the age cap to 65 has gained momentum since November's election.
Addtional Related Links
Fighting to Fly: Interview with Bert Yetman (June 2005)
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