ICAO Meeting to Consider Raising Pilot Retirement Age: What’s at Stake

ICAO meeting to consider raising pilot retirement age: what’s at stake

As the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) General Assembly meets from September 23 to October 3, 2025, in Montreal, one of the most closely watched issues will be a proposal from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to raise the retirement age for airline pilots from 65 to 67.  IATA put the idea forward in a working paper submitted in late August. The group argues that health data and medical advances support what it …

Global airlines group asks U.N. to raise international pilot retirement age

In a bid to counterbalance the growing popularity of air travel and the lack of commercial airline pilots, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has submitted a proposal to the U.N.’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to raise the international pilot retirement age to 67. Since the start of aviation, a lot has changed as far as pilot retirement goes. Back in the 1920s, people were forced to step down at the age of 45.…