3 January 2008
Airline pilots win right to fly into old age
Mandatory retirement age upped to 87
 MADRID,
Spain -- As a result of talks here between the Federation of Commercial Aviation Pilots
(FCAP) and the International Commercial Airline Association (ICAA), an
agreement has been announced that would allow commercial
airline pilots to continue on the job until the year of their 87th birthdays.
In a joint news release, the FCAP (the
largest collective bargaining organization in the world, representing airline pilots
in over 140 countries) and the ICAA (a major airline trade coalition)
stated that this new
agreement will apply to all current and future pilots and will become
effective immediately.
According to Hans Theelmann, spokesperson for the ICAA, "the deal comes
as a result of changing personnel factors within our industry. Our airline
members have been adding additional aircraft to their fleets over the
past few years as demand for air travel has been increasing. At the same
time, however, the pool of personnel trained to pilot those aircraft has been shrinking due
to age-triggered, mandatory
retirements. Allowing current pilots to stay on the job longer will
forestall any immediate personnel crunch and will offer near life-time
employment for pilots considering airline industry careers."
Among the adjustments to the new contract are a number of issues that
will account for the needs of advanced-aged pilots. For instance, pilots
will now be allowed 15 minutes of nap time while
in flight and 30 minutes while parked at a terminal. Cockpit
instruments will be reconfigured with larger readouts, and special, high-fidelity
headphones will be available as needed. Moreover, during their annual pilot
recertification tests, pilots over the age of 56 will be allowed twice as
much time to perform emergency maneuvers as younger pilots.
Justine Polmoir, noted airline industry
observer, said that she expects that this policy will rollover into the
personnel policies of all airlines by the end of the year.
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