The airport has become a much less enjoyable place to be in recent years because of higher security measures and also unavoidable weather delays. Another problem is soon to be affecting air travel in the United States that most people are unaware of. I was reading an article that was talking about the shortage of pilots in U.S. airlines. The article explained that one of the reasons is because the requirements for being a pilot are starting to become stricter. For example, Federal Mandates will be put into effect next year that require pilots to have at least 1,500 hours of flying experience which is six times more than previously needed. I think that this is in theory is a great idea that would ensure that pilots really know how to fly but that time is a huge investment! I remember how long it felt to get fifty hours in order to be eligible for my drivers license so 1,500 hours would feel like a lifetime. Therefore, Aviation Schools will have to spend more money and wait a longer time to send out new pilots. This is an issue because according to the Wall Street Journal, "more than half of American pilots are over age 50"and many of them will be retiring soon. Furthermore, studies project that Airlines will need to hire nearly 50,000 pilots in the next ten years in order to keep up with the wave of pilots that will be retiring.When first reading the article, I did not understand why there are not enough pilots. I remembered hearing about cuts in the pay of pilots earlier this year and realized that this could make the job less appealing to prospective pilots. Because of these pay cuts, some American pilots are moving overseas to fly planes for other foreign airlines that pay better. Also, the job is rather demanding because the pilot is away from home most of the time. Why else do you think that there is a shortage of pilots? How would this affect the availability of flights in the coming years? Do you think that the media is making this problem seem bigger than it really is?
I think that in the future, this problem will continue to grow and soon will affect people in the United States and possibly around the world. Air travel is very important to so many people in the world, especially business men and women. I believe that although the very high standards for becoming a pilot are good and ensure safety, it is a lot to ask for many aspiring pilots. My uncle is a pilot, and he explained to my family that flying 1,500 hours before earning his pilots license was very tough, and actually made him consider whether he really wanted to be a pilot. However, after a lot of consideration, he decided to move to Alaska and fly everyday to get all of his hours. This was a huge decision for him and took a lot of dedication to flying. For a lot of hopeful pilots, the hours are a huge obstacle because of the long hours and also the cost. I believe that this is a huge factor in why there has been a decline in pilots in recent years.
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