More than half of the world’s airline pilots are no longer flying for a living, according to a worldwide survey highlighting how the Covid-19 pandemic has devastated the profession.
The Pilot Survey 2021, by aviation recruitment firm Goose and publisher FlightGlobal, showed just 43% of pilots stay in their job. The October poll covered just about 2,600 flight crew worldwide.
While vaccinations stay aviation’s excellent hope for a recovery, infection flareups and mutant variants of the virus have dashed prospects for a steady return of scheduled services.
The International Air Transport Association has mentioned flying may well not return to pre-pandemic levels till 2024, placing a lengthy strain on the pilot profession.
In the survey, 30% of respondents described themselves as unemployed and 17% mentioned they have been furloughed. Another 6% nevertheless work in aviation but in a non-flying function, and 4% had switched to a diverse market altogether.
Of the regions represented in the survey, the U.S. was least hardest hit, with 20% of pilots unemployed. China had the biggest group of furloughed pilots at 24%. In a sign of some optimism, just about 3-quarters of pilots count on the market to completely recover in one to 3 years.
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