Commercial pilot retires at 83<\/a><\/p>\nPilot spots fish, sprays crops and shuttles tourists to make a living in the sky.<\/p>\n
In the United States, even domestic pilots are forced to retire at 65.<\/p>\n
Australian and International Pilots Association vice president Steven Cornell said the union supported lifting the retirement age, but only if safety and medical evidence backed the move.<\/p>\n
He said long-haul international flying brings unique challenges.<\/p>\n
“It involves circadian disruption, being awake for substantial periods while crossing multiple time zones, and trying to sleep in those different zones,” he said.<\/p>\n
A pilot’s perspective: experience matters<\/p>\n
Captain Dave Holt, 63, has spent almost four decades in the cockpit, flying Qantas 787s across Europe, the US, and Asia.<\/p>\n
With just 18 months until he reaches the mandatory retirement age, he had hoped to continue flying internationally.<\/p>\n
“As long as you’re fit and healthy and meet the standard, you shouldn’t be precluded from flying. It’s just a number. My gut says 67 is about right,” Captain Holt said.<\/p>\n
![\"Captain](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/906ef4cd0b64b5ab8d37ef032ecb1a0f\")
<\/p>\n
Captain Dave Holt says he’s not ready to retire at 65. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
He said safety standards are rigorous for older pilots and keeping experienced pilots in the air benefited both airlines and passengers.<\/p>\n
“If you’ve got someone who’s fit, healthy and very experienced, they’re valuable,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Airlines invest heavily in training and retaining. That experience reduces costs and keeps expertise in the system.”<\/p>\n
Why is there a global pilot shortage?<\/p>\n
The push to extend the age of international pilots reflects a growing supply problem. Airlines worldwide are struggling to fill cockpit seats.<\/p>\n
A Boeing industry report predicts the world will need 660,000 new pilots, 710,000 maintenance technicians and one million cabin crew over the next 20 years.<\/p>\n
In Australia, the Federal Government’s Aviation White Paper found shortages of pilots, flight instructors and maintenance engineers are contributing to delays and flight cancellations.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/089e69ef299611cd3cf9e40239aec62e\")
<\/p>\n
Captain Steven Cornell from the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) says long-haul flying poses unique challenges for pilots. (Supplied: AIPA)<\/p>\n
Captain Cornell said raising the retirement age might have helped, but it was not a long-term fix.<\/p>\n
“Commercial pilots in Australia can spend around $150,000 on qualifications, with no guarantee of a job at the end and many are lured overseas by better pay, particularly in the Middle East,” he said.<\/p>\n
Retention was another challenge.<\/p>\n
“Some airlines have taken fairly combative approaches to industrial relations, which drives pilots overseas,” Captain Cornell said.<\/p>\n
The future of flying careers<\/p>\n
For veteran pilot Captain Holt, the bigger hurdle comes much earlier in a pilot’s career.<\/p>\n
“It’s a difficult industry to get into. You can spend a huge amount of money on qualifications, and not necessarily get a job,” he said.<\/p>\n
![\"Captain](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/9411ba5e99bd599ba83b0cf0247a077c\")
<\/p>\n
Captain Dave Holt and his son, William, who has followed in his father’s footsteps and now flies for Qantas. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
Captain Holt has also passed on his love of flying to the next generation: his son, William, is now a Qantas pilot as well.<\/p>\n
Captain Cornell said the profession must strike a balance between extending careers and creating new opportunities.<\/p>\n
“Ultimately, it’s about safety, experience, and making sure the next generation sees this as a viable and rewarding career,” he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A bid to allow pilots to fly internationally beyond the age of 65 has been grounded, with some…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":290158,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4740,16732,148871,50,148872,6987,148873],"class_list":{"0":"post-290157","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-international-flights","10":"tag-international-routes","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-older-pilots","13":"tag-pilots","14":"tag-veteran-aviators"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115346170968558232","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}