High price of pilot training is barrier to less affluent candidates
Airlines are being urged to take action to make sure candidates from less affluent backgrounds aren’t put off becoming pilots.
They say the cost of training is a barrier to aspiring pilots who might not be able to afford it.
As students across the country prepare to open their A-level results this week, the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) is calling for the airline industry to ensure pilot selection is open to everyone.
It says training, which can cost up to £100,000, has historically been funded by airlines,
but in the last few decades the burden has fallen increasingly to the pilots.
"Unfortunately, many aspiring pilots who have worked hard to get top-notch A-level qualifications will fall by the wayside because they are unable to fund their training," said BALPA head of membership and career services Wendy Pursey.
"We believe this financial burden has a real impact on pilots and has wider repercussions for the aviation industry.
"Pilot contracts are changing and the big salaries associated with being a pilot are fast disappearing. There are some contracts out there for low-hours pilots which barely pay enough to live on, let alone cover the cost of training.
"Whilst we don’t want to put anyone off a pilot career, we must ensure our future pilot members are entering the industry with their eyes wide open.
"We believe more needs to be done to ensure fresh talent is supported early in their career."
BALPA has launched a nextGen project to lobby the Government and airlines to do more to ensure recruitment is based on talent and ‘not on who has the deepest pockets’.
Newly-trained pilots also say casual contracts and low starting wages are adding to the problem.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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