Sixty-five is too old to fly..Blacklock’s Reporter says a 65-year old Air Canada pilot has lost a challenge of mandatory retirement rules after a Canada Labour Code arbitrator said accommodating senior pilots was unreasonable..That’s even though the Aeronautics Act does not mandate a retirement age..“Air Canada cannot reasonably accommodate pilots flying past the International Civil Aviation Organization limit of age 65 without undue hardship,” wrote arbitrator Eli Gedalof..The Air Canada Pilots Association had protested the retirement rule..Jeff Foss, 67, of Halifax two years ago was forced to retire after decades of flying with Air Canada..The airline noted while Canada does not enforce a mandatory retirement age for pilots as the U.S. does, adopting the Civil Aviation Organization rule at 65..“Of the flight routes flown by Air Canada in 2018, all of them either overflew U.S. airspace or required a U.S. alternate airport more than 5% of the time,” wrote Gedalof..“In other words, a pilot past the age of 65 would have to be prohibited from flying that route at least 5% of the time and replaced by another pilot.”.The CAO introduced the 65 age limit for pilots in 2014. Previously it had proposed an “over-under” rule stating international flights with one pilot over age 60 were permissible if the copilot was under 60..Air Canada in a submission to the arbitrator acknowledged its flight crews are aging. In the period from 2019 to 2021, a total 161 pilots reached age 65..The Supreme Court to date has dismissed numerous challenges of mandatory retirement rules. A Hamilton, Ont. firefighter in 2015 lost a bid to appeal his mandatory retirement at age 60 under Ontario’s Fire Protection And Prevention Act..“The risk of cardiac events for firefighters is significant and increases with age in particular after age 60,” the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal wrote in the case..The Supreme Court in 2015 also dismissed a challenge of mandatory exams by an 85-year old driver. Kenneth MacLennan, a retired Ottawa school superintendent, argued mandatory testing based on age alone breached his Charter rights.
Sixty-five is too old to fly..Blacklock’s Reporter says a 65-year old Air Canada pilot has lost a challenge of mandatory retirement rules after a Canada Labour Code arbitrator said accommodating senior pilots was unreasonable..That’s even though the Aeronautics Act does not mandate a retirement age..“Air Canada cannot reasonably accommodate pilots flying past the International Civil Aviation Organization limit of age 65 without undue hardship,” wrote arbitrator Eli Gedalof..The Air Canada Pilots Association had protested the retirement rule..Jeff Foss, 67, of Halifax two years ago was forced to retire after decades of flying with Air Canada..The airline noted while Canada does not enforce a mandatory retirement age for pilots as the U.S. does, adopting the Civil Aviation Organization rule at 65..“Of the flight routes flown by Air Canada in 2018, all of them either overflew U.S. airspace or required a U.S. alternate airport more than 5% of the time,” wrote Gedalof..“In other words, a pilot past the age of 65 would have to be prohibited from flying that route at least 5% of the time and replaced by another pilot.”.The CAO introduced the 65 age limit for pilots in 2014. Previously it had proposed an “over-under” rule stating international flights with one pilot over age 60 were permissible if the copilot was under 60..Air Canada in a submission to the arbitrator acknowledged its flight crews are aging. In the period from 2019 to 2021, a total 161 pilots reached age 65..The Supreme Court to date has dismissed numerous challenges of mandatory retirement rules. A Hamilton, Ont. firefighter in 2015 lost a bid to appeal his mandatory retirement at age 60 under Ontario’s Fire Protection And Prevention Act..“The risk of cardiac events for firefighters is significant and increases with age in particular after age 60,” the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal wrote in the case..The Supreme Court in 2015 also dismissed a challenge of mandatory exams by an 85-year old driver. Kenneth MacLennan, a retired Ottawa school superintendent, argued mandatory testing based on age alone breached his Charter rights.
