Pilot shortage will limit prices, number of flights, JU aeronautics professor tells First Coast News

HELP WANTED: Pilots.

That’s certain to be a mantra of the future, Jacksonville University Assistant Professor of Aeronautics Wayne Ziskal said in a Dec. 21 First Coast News (WTLV NBC-12 and WJXX ABC-25) story.

“There’s going to be a huge pilot shortage like we have never seen” resulting in United States’ airlines losing as many as 70 percent of their pilots within 10 years, Ziskal, a retired American Airlines captain, told the television station.

The reasons for the pilot shortage are numerous.

“The people who were able to go to 65 are going to be retiring as of starting this month (and) there will be many foreign airlines and countries that require United States-trained pilots,” Ziskal said.

Also contributing to the shortage are new rules for increased pilot resting periods, new minimum training requirements, and a decline in the number of military pilots, which is a key recruitment source for airlines, Ziskal said.

Ziskal said in the TV report that an outcome of the shortage likely will be higher ticket prices and fewer flights at smaller airports.

“Salaries are going to have to go up, and I believe ticket prices may follow. Some of the smaller airports may suffer because there just won’t be the regional pilots and airplanes to service those cities,” Ziskal said.

Here is the First Coast News story:

Jacksonville University’s Davis Aviation Center in the Davis College of Business has been educating and training future professional pilots and aviation executives for more than 25 years. JU’s Aviation Management and Flight Operations degree programs are accredited by the Aviation Accreditation Board International. For more information, call (904) 256-7895 or visit www.ju.edu.