Air Safety Forum Focuses on 1,500 Training Hour Rule

Gov’t leaders call out fake pilot shortage narrative

The latest: Transportation safety authorities and industry leaders speaking at ALPA's 2022 Air Safety Forum last week made one thing clear: Efforts to reduce pilot training due to a fake pilot shortage narrative are misguided. These officials rejected calls to reduce the 1,500-hour pilot training rule.

Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg: “We fully supported Congress’ establishment of the 1,500 flight hour requirement for commercial flights, and we know how much it supports safe operations.”

NTSB Board Chair Jennifer Homendy: “Lowering safety standards to address the failure of some airlines to anticipate and adequately prepare for such a rapid recovery is not the answer.”

House Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Peter DeFazio: “We’re not going to roll back the 1,500-hour rule.”

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler: “These bad actors will stop at nothing. They’re trying to push this story to get rid of the 1,500-hour rule and other standards to keep pilots and passengers safe.”

Why does pilot training matter? Certification saves lives. 

Some airlines have been trying to dramatically cut pilot training and qualification requirements under the most effective aviation safety law of this century: the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010.

  • Airline fatalities used to be far higher.In fact, deaths dropped 99.8% after lawmakers overhauled training requirements for airline pilots following the 2009 crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407.
  • The “1,500-hour rule.” Under the law, pilots must meet a series of safety requirements to earn an ATP certificate, including hours of flight time, rigorous training and stringent qualification standards.

Dive deeper:

  • Poor planning contributed to this ‘crisis’. Taxpayers helped rescue U.S. airlines from the brink of economic disaster during the pandemic, sending three financial lifelines totaling $63 billion over two years. These funds positioned the aviation industry to be ready for recovery but some planned better than others.