Regional Pilot Shortage Slows the U.S. Airline Recovery
Photo Credit: American Airlines and other major carriers face challenges finding pilots to fly regional flights. Flickr / IMF Photo/Cory Hancock
Skift Take
Airlines may be waving goodbye to the Omicron variant but they are just beginning to feel the fallout from the pandemic. U.S. carriers face a worsening shortage of pilots to fly small, regional jets, which is hampering their recovery and sending more travelers into the hands of budget competitors.
The coronavirus pandemic is the crisis that just keeps giving to the airline industry. While many — though not all — travelers have come back faster than expected, the virus has upended the fragile talent pipeline for many of the critical jobs that make the industry go, not least that of pilots.
Omicron is the concern de jure. Carriers around the world — from Alaska Airlines to Finnair and Qantas — have pared schedules through March as Covid-19 cases have surged, and sidelined significant numbers of airline staff. It has been so bad that at one point in recent weeks, roughly a third of United Airlines’ staff at its Newark hub were out sick. Many public health experts expect the Omicron wave to begin easing shortly, and allowing the airline industry to get back to the recovery at hand.
But even as Omicron ebbs, airlines — particularly in the U.S. — face staffing shortages that range from entry-level positions like baggage handlers to highly qualifie
