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Ryanair pilot fiasco highlights wider industry issue, says OAG
The current Ryanair fiasco over pilot leave has highlighted a shortage of commercial pilots across the whole industry, according to OAG.
OAG, which provides digital flight information for the aviation sector, says the lack of available pilot hours for Ryanair shows a bigger industry challenge to recruit more pilots.
"Every day there are vacancies advertised with attractive packages attempting to entice pilots to relocate to Asia, and in some cases even allowing pilots to be based locally at home," says OAG’s latest blog.
"That shortage will only grow; in the next few years, a very large proportion of current pilots will reach retirement age leaving a considerable gap of expertise that cannot be filled overnight."
OAG says there is increasing pressure on airlines to recruit pilots, with experts suggesting that in the next 20 years 610,000 new pilots will be required to meet the growing demand.
OAG data for summer 2017 showed there was an additional 1.1 million scheduled flights worldwide, and 251,000 extra flights in Europe alone.
"Such growth places considerable pressure both on existing resources and the training of new pilots; something that the industry has only recently begun to grapple with," it said.
"Airlines are already beginning to see pilot associations flex their muscles with respect to improved compensation packages and this will only grow in the next 12 months as yearly negotiations take place."
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Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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