A lot of the current situation can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic; airlines halted pilot hiring and handed out early retirement packages to thousands of pilots that were well below the 65-year mandated retirement age in an attempt to cut expenses during the depths of the pandemic crisis.
The shortage has airlines scrambling for solutions; Republic Airways, a regional airline based in the U.S., recently requested an exemption to the 1,500-hour rule; it wants to hire pilots with only 750 hours. Lawmakers are also considering raising the mandated retirement age for airline pilots in the U.S. from 65 to 67 or even higher to ease the shortage; about a third of airline pilots in the U.S. are between the ages of 51 and 59. The 1,500-hour rule came to be in 2009 after the FAA increased the minimum number of flight hours needed to gain an Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) from 250 to 1,500 as a result of the findings from the investigation of Continental Connection Flight 3407 (operating as Colgan Air Flight 3407).
This has caused the training process for pilots to be much more time-consuming and expensive; because of this, many airlines, such as United, have started their flight schools where they will help pilots reach the 1,500-hour mark with the promise of working for them when they reach the threshold. Airlines in the U.S. have also dropped a four-year degree from their pilot hiring requirements.
