On Friday, October 3, the International Civil Aviation Organization ( ICAO ) rejected a proposal by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to raise the mandatory retirement age for commercial airline pilots. The proposal, debated during ICAO’s 42nd General Assembly in Montreal, sought to extend the global age limit for multi-crew international operations from 65 to 67.

In the early years of commercial aviation, the mandatory retirement age was set as low as 45 before being raised to 60 in the 1940s . It later increased to 65 in 2006 under updated ICAO standards. IATA had argued that allowing pilots to continue flying for an additional two years would help ease ongoing staffing shortages without compromising safety.

IATA’s Proposal Gains Industry Support But Fails To

See Full Page