Airlines
Senators Reintroduce Bill To Raise Pilot Retirement Age to 67
Alphabet organizations such as the Regional Airline Association applaud a bill to allow airline pilots to fly until age 67 in the U.S.
Some 5,000 U.S. airline pilots will have to retire in the next two years if Congress doesn't pass an age limit increase. (Photo: Airbus)
Some 5,000 U.S. airline pilots will have to retire in the next two years if Congress doesn't pass an age limit increase. (Photo: Airbus)

Seven U.S. senators on Tuesday reintroduced a bill to increase the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots from 65 to 67 amid what Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-South Carolina) characterized as a severe and growing pilot shortage. First introduced last summer, the Let Experienced Pilots Fly Act stalled during the last Congressional session and resurfaced this week with bipartisan support.

Apart from raising the retirement age, the bill requires that pilots over age 65 renew their first-class medical certifications every six months. It does not alter any other qualification to become an airline pilot.