---
title: "Global airlines group proposes raising international pilot retirement age to 67"
description: "SEATTLE, Aug 27 (Reuters) - A group representing global airlines has asked the UN's aviation agency to raise the international age limit for commercial pilots to 67 years from 65, saying worldwide demand for air travel is outstripping the supply of aviators."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-08-28-global-airlines-group-proposes-raising-international-pilot-retirement-age-to-67/"
published: "2025-08-28T05:05:26"
updated: "2025-08-28T05:07:44"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 278
---

# Global airlines group proposes raising international pilot retirement age to 67

> SEATTLE, Aug 27 (Reuters) - A group representing global airlines has asked the UN's aviation agency to raise the international age limit for commercial pilots to 67 years from 65, saying worldwide demand for air travel is outstripping the supply of aviators.

By Reuters · Published 28 August 2025, 07:05 SAST · Updated 28 August 2025, 07:07 SAST

## Key points
- As the U.N. considers raising the airline pilot retirement age from 65 to 67—much to the chagrin of U.S. pilot unions who prefer their aviators not to be collecting Social Security while soaring through the skies—safety concerns take flight alongside the contentious proposal.
- ICAO to discuss raising the pilot retirement age from 65 to 67 at its General Assembly on September 23, amid opposition from U.S. pilot unions.
- IATA supports the proposal, calling it a "cautious but reasonable step" for safety, but emphasizes the need for two pilots on each flight.
- U.S. pilot unions, citing safety concerns, argue there's insufficient data to justify increasing the retirement age.
- Previous attempts to raise the retirement age in Congress faced opposition from unions, despite bipartisan support for the initiative.

## Content

By Dan Catchpole

The U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will consider the [proposal](https://www.icao.int/sites/default/files/Meetings/a42/Documents/WP/wp_349_en.pdf), which has been opposed by major U.S. pilot unions, at its General Assembly that convenes on September 23.

International rules prohibit airline pilots older than 65 from flying international flights, and many countries, including the United States, apply the same rule domestically as well.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents about 350 airlines, said raising the limit by two years is a "cautious but reasonable step consistent with safety."

There would still have to be at least two pilots operating each flight, including one younger than 65 if the other pilot is above that age, IATA said in a working paper published on ICAO's website.

In 2006, ICAO lifted the age limit from 60 to 65.

The major pilot unions in the U.S. have opposed a higher retirement age based on safety concerns.

There is not enough data available to adequately understand the risk of increasing the retirement age, said Allied Pilots Association (APA) spokesperson Dennis Tajer, an American Airlines AAL.O pilot.

"We don't gamble with safety that way," he said.

The Air Line Pilots Association and the Southwest Airlines Pilot Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

U.S. pilot unions opposed an [unsuccessful push](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3961TD&linkedFromStory=true) backed by U.S. carriers in 2023 to get Congress to raise the mandatory airline pilot retirement age to 67 from 65.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress last month [pushed President Donald Trump's](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3TB0UB&linkedFromStory=true) administration to support international efforts to raise the mandatory pilot retirement age.

(Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle; Additional reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago; Editing by Jamie Freed)