The Senate Commerce Committee’s Republican chair, Senator Ted Cruz, has launched a proposal that would change the retirement age for pilots within the United States from 65—an internationally recognized age—to 67, or to abolish it entirely, a move that unions say would put travel at greater risk.
The move was first announced by Cruz in a letter asking President Trump to support the change during a United Nations aviation meeting in Montreal, Canada.
“America should lead on the international stage in support of raising, or even abolishing, the pilot retirement age,” Cruz told Reuters. He said the current regulation is “forcing thousands of highly qualified and experienced pilots into early retirement every year.”
It’s not the first time the government considered the move: in 2024, Congress rejected the push to increase pilot retirement ages after the Federal Aviation Administration called for a scientific safety analysis, wanting proper proof that raising the age of retirement wouldn’t put passengers at greater risk.
Yet international law does not allow pilots older than 65 years of age to fly international flights, and many countries apply that rule to domestic flying, too, including the U.S.
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) strongly rejects the proposal. They commented on the proposal, saying, “The United States is the global leader in aviation safety, and we should resist any attempts to arbitrarily make changes to the regulatory framework that has helped us achieve this record. That’s why Congress rejected making a change to the pilot retirement age just last year.”
ALPA has launched a campaign to stop the proposal, urging pilots and non-pilots to send letter to their representatives urging them to stop the change, saying that “Arbitrarily increasing the retirement age presents multiple problems. Raising the retirement age beyond 65 would put the United States out of compliance with international standards. It would disrupt U.S. airline operations and interfere with collectively bargained agreements.”
Yet the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents 350 airlines across the globe, said the change can be made without impacting safety—its own proposal for hiking the retirement age has won support from representatives in other countries, too, signaling that airlines, at least are onboard as long as safety can be assured.
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