Commercial pilot licenses issued in Canada has reduced significantly since 2019
Transport Canada has announced its number of commercial pilot licenses issued in Canada has declined by more than 80 per cent since 2019, even as aviation experts warn of an ever-growing labor shortage that threatens to disrupt Canada’s airline industry.
Transport Canada numbers show that the number of commercial pilot licenses awarded each year was relatively consistent for much of the past decade, averaging 1,116 licenses annually between the years 2012 and 2019.
With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, however, those numbers fell off a cliff — to 474 licenses that year and then declining even further to 293 in 2021 and 238 in 2022.
Part of the collapse in certifications during the pandemic is likely due to physical distancing and other public health-related challenges experienced by flight schools themselves. A survey conducted by the Flight School Association of North America in May of 2020 found that approximately 50 per cent of flight schools were forced to close temporarily in the early days of the pandemic, resulting in delays and disruptions to pilot educations.
However, experts say the numbers also reflect a broader unease with the state of the aviation industry and the stability of piloting as a career choice.
However, even before the pandemic, a pilot shortage was brewing in Canada due to a variety of factors including an aging workforce and the rapid proliferation of new discount airlines that are putting pressure on the labor supply.
A 2018 report by the Canadian Council for Aviation and Aerospace said that a third of flight operators in the country at that time cited pilots as their biggest skills shortage. The report said the need for experienced pilots was beginning to outpace the available national supply, and projected the industry would need an additional 7,300 pilots.
That means Canada needs to train even more pilots, and even a return to the pre-COVID status quo won’t be enough. Experts say one problem with that is the skyrocketing cost of training. It costs upwards of $100,000 to become a commercial pilot in 2023, more than double what it cost 20 years ago. And while an experienced captain at a mainline carrier can expect to earn well over six figures, most young pilots have to spend a decade gaining experience on remote and northern routes or at poorer-paying budget airlines before they can aspire to that level. Source from CTV News 20th Jan 2023
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