Crosscheck doors-to-arrival. What’s your vector, Victor?.Airline passengers might be going through a lot more safety demonstrations after Boeing announced global airlines will need to train and hire 2.3 million more aviation personnel in the next 20 years to keep up with surging demand for air travel..The figures include 649,000 pilots, 690,000 maintenance technicians and 938,000 smiling faces to crew the cabins and make sure seatbelts are fastened..It comes as domestic and international flight levels return to normal following three years of the pandemic that saw an exodus of staff from all the world’s major airlines, including Canada’s.."With domestic air travel fully recovered and international traffic near pre-pandemic levels, demand for aviation personnel continues to increase," said Chris Broom, Boeing’s vice-president of commercial training. .According to Boeing more than a quarter of the commercial pilot workforce will reach mandatory retirement age in the next decade..“The challenge for North American airlines will continue to be inspiring, developing, and training the next generation of pilots to fill the gap left by retirements and attrition,” he said..Through 2042, Being projects China, Eurasia and North America drive demand for more than half of new industry personnel, with requirements in China surpassing North America..The fastest-growing regions for air travel are Africa, Southeast Asia and South Asia, with their regional demand expected to nearly double..After omitting demand for Russia in last year's outlook due to uncertainty in the region, this year's forecast includes Russia in the Eurasia region and it comprises 3% of global demand for personnel..To that end, the company is offering up $1 million in scholarships in the US to recruit pilots from underrepresented groups including women, Latinos and students in the Compton area of Los Angeles..It comes as the number of commercial pilot licences in this country has declined more than 80% since 2019, according to Transport Canada..Flight schools in Canada have typically churned out about 1,100 pilots a year since 2012. With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, however, those numbers plunged to 474 that year and then declined on a steeper trajectory to 293 in 2021 and 238 in 2022..In January, tour operator Sunwing blamed its financial troubles on a shortage of pilots that forced it to cancel flights. It was eventually sold to WestJet.
