A pilot shortage is expected to worsen in the coming years as airlines struggle to meet growing travel demands on a global scale, and while that’s bad news for companies trying to fill cockpits, it’s a good time to be in the business of training the next generation of aviators.
For the Liberty University School of Aeronautics the shortage is a growth opportunity.
The School of Aeronautics was launched in 2002 with one leased aircraft, two instructor pilots and four students, said Tony Cihak, chair of the flight science program at Liberty. The School of Aeronautics now has about 450 residential students and another 1,300 enrolled online.
Program enrollment nearly has doubled since 2016, according to details provided by LU.
“The demand for professional aviators is significantly growing,” Cihak said.
A 2017 Boeing study identified a global need for 637,000 new pilots during the next 20 years.
Cihak said that number is due to increased travel demands coupled with baby boomers hitting the mandatory retirement age of 65 for commercial airline pilots and leaving the industry.
Because of the pilot shortages, some airlines have grounded flights. Republic Airways, a regional provider for United Airlines, declared bankruptcy in 2016. In bankruptcy documents, Republic Airways claimed the pilot shortage left the company with too many empty cockpits.
With thin ranks in the aviation industry, LU graduates feel confident about the market.
“There’s no worry at all of me getting a job,” said Mariah Acree, a 2016 graduate who now serves as a flight instructor for the School of Aeronautics, training undergraduate aviators.
“Everyone needs pilots, so there are a lot more options available to you than there were 10 or 20 years ago,” said John Adams, a 2014 graduate who now is a flight instructor for LU.
Adams said he was hired in March by Piedmont Airlines to fly commercial flights and is joining the company in May. The delay in his start time, he said, is due to a training backlog.
Ian Butkus, also a 2014 LU graduate and flight instructor, plans to join the U.S. Air Force.
The military has not been spared by the pilot shortage affecting commercial airlines.
As instructors, the three graduates have the opportunity to log necessary flight hours. Though a private pilot’s license requires only 40 hours of flight time, an airline transport certificate — which is required to fly passenger planes — requires a total of 1,500 hours.
According to its website, the USAF is about 1,500 pilots short of being fully staffed.
Pilots aren’t the only airline personnel in high demand. The 2017 Boeing study also predicted a shortage of 648,000 technicians and 839,000 cabin crew members during the next 20 years.
That’s another shortfall LU’s School of Aeronautics is working to fill. Liberty offers five different flight-related bachelor’s degree programs with various concentrations, two associate degree programs, a certificate program and both aeronautics and flight attendant minors.
To help fill the ranks of its growing program, Cihak said the School of Aeronautics is recruiting from local high schools with events such as aviation camps and short summer training programs. Cihak also pointed to ties with the USAF, noting LU will host 54 JROTC cadets this summer to earn their private pilot’s license, which requires 40 hours of flight time.
Josh Moody covers higher education for The News & Advance. Reach him at 434-385-5556.