Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

Top government leaders painted a “sobering picture” of the future of the aviation workforce, with a need for thousands&nbsp;of new pilots in the next couple of decades at a time when interest in the industry appears to have ebbed. In prepared remarks at the Aviation Workforce Symposium last week, FAA acting administrator Dan Elwell cited the Boeing pilot outlook, which predicts a need for 117,000 pilots in North America alone as traffic is projected to double by 2036.

 


“But at a time when we need to see interest in aviation careers going up, the data is trending in the opposite direction,” he said, noting a 27 percent slide in the&nbsp;number of private pilots in the last 10 years. At the same time, the number of commercial pilots has slid by 21 percent. And, Elwell added, “The military—which used to be one of the best sources for new hires—isn’t turning out as many new pilots as it used to.”

 


College aviation programs are suffering from a shortage of instructors because they move to the airlines as soon as they have logged enough time, he said. Complicating matters is an anticipated increase in pilot retirements over the next 10 years, since the average age of an Airline Transport Pilot certificate holder is 50 years old.

 


<h2>Collaborative Solutions</h2>

 


"There needs to be a common understanding of the gravity and urgency of this situation,” he said. “We have a diminishing supply of qualified pilots, mechanics, and technicians.” The aviation community needs to work together to make aviation careers attractive and consider how to improve training so safety can improve at the same time, Elwell added.

 


Transportation secretary Elaine Chao&nbsp;agreed: “This issue goes far beyond what the government alone can do. It is incumbent upon all of us to find solutions.” The aviation community must stoke interest in the industry, she said, adding, “These are wonderful jobs in the aviation sector, and they should be highlighted.”

 


U.S. Air Force secretary Heather Wilson also stressed during the symposium the need to highlight safety in its efforts to boost the population, as well as a need to work together. “If we continue to cannibalize off each other, we will never solve the core problem,” she said.

 


And furthering Elwell’s contention on the military, Wilson had said that the service was already short by 2,000 pilots, including 1,300 fighter pilots. Noting the small percentage of women and minority pilots, Wilson added, “There’s a whole segment of our population that has not been touched or inspired.”

 


The symposium, which attracted more than 100 aviation professions, drove home the need for everyone to work together on a solution, added Jo Damato, NBAA senior director of educational strategy. “There are a number of paths people can take once they enter this workforce, but this ecosystem that we all are responsible for is why NBAA needs to be a part of the solution,” she said, adding that industry must take new and creative approaches to connecting with young people.

 


The country will be short 5,000 pilots by 2021, and by 2026 that number will increase to about 15,000 pilots, according to&nbsp;statistics from Marty&nbsp;Lenss,&nbsp;a symposium panelist from Eastern Iowa Airport and the American Association of Airport&nbsp;Executives.

 


During its regional forum in on September 6 in San Jose, California, NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen asked business aviation stakeholders to do what they can to help boost the workforce. “The future of business aviation looks bright, and technologies on the horizon make this an exciting time to be in the industry, but only if we meet challenges head on and work together to make a difference,” he said.

Workforce Symposium Spotlights Urgency of Pilot Shortage

The number of private pilots has dropped by 27 percent in the last 10 years, says FAA acting administrator Dan Elwell.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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