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

The Senate Commerce Committee yesterday focused on the workforce challenges confronting the aviation industry as it contemplates the development of a comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill.
“Now more than ever, we cannot afford to leave good talent on the table,” said Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell (D-Washington). She&nbsp;noted that over the next 20 years, the commercial aviation industry will need 128,000 pilots, 134,000 maintenance technicians, and 173,000 cabin crewmembers in North America alone, and looking at just this year, aviation manufacturers hope to hire 10,000 workers to ramp up production.
“With post-pandemic aviation growth, we face new challenges and we need to develop a pipeline of qualified workers to replace those who either retired or voluntarily left the workforce during the Covid-19 pandemic,“ she said.
She also pointed out the importance of diversifying the workforce, particularly since women represent just 5 percent of airline pilots&nbsp;and less than 12 percent of aerospace engineers, but are 47 percent of the total U.S. workforce. “We have&nbsp;got to bridge the gap.”
Further, Cantwell said, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than 15 percent combined of pilots and engineers are Black, Hispanic, or Asian. She also pointed to concerns about the rising cost of education.
Sen. Tammy Duckwork (D-Illinois), who chairs the aviation subcommittee, warned that “success or failure may ride on whether we will be able to dramatically strengthen our nation's aviation workforce over the next five years. She said, "Without a properly trained, quipped, and compensated aviation workforce, the safety of the flying public will be at risk and the delays we’ve seen in the past five years will seem mild by comparison.”
Duckworth&nbsp;also stressed the importance of keeping the 1,500-hour airline pilot rule in the face of workforce pressures.
Both Duckwork and Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), the ranking member of the aviation subcommittee, agreed that the hearing focusing on means to strengthen the workforce was a key part of getting the next FAA reauthorization bill done.
“I am optimistic we will craft a proposal that will combine the best elements” of the various workforce initiatives offered in Capitol Hill to foster growth, Duckworth said.

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

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News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

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News about simulators and training procedures, as well as workforce.

News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

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