They’re grounded.
Another airline is forced to cut flights due to a lack of qualified pilots: Sun Country recently announced it will reduce fall flights, citing staffing issues.
The Minnesota-based budget airline, which was acquired by Allegiant earlier this year, removed roughly 348 departures from its September schedule.
In an internal memo sent to Allegiant and Sun Country flight crews on July 3, Allegiant CEO Greg Anderson attributed the reduction “to higher-than-expected front-line crew attrition combined with increased cargo flying.”
Anderson assured staff that the reductions are a temporary measure as the company continues to increase pilot hiring in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Seven Minneapolis routes were suspended for the month of September: Cancún; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida; Asheville and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; Baltimore/Washington; and Phoenix-Mesa.
Among routes that remained, there were significant scalebacks; flights between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Los Angeles were reduced by approximately 39%; flights to Orlando and San Francisco were similarly affected. Meanwhile, service to Chicago O’Hare was cut by about 62%
So far, the scaleback is limited to September, as schedules from October through April of 2027 are largely unchanged. In addition, the airline has added service on several established routes.
In a separate statement to AirlineGeeks, the company attributed the schedule changes to seasonal demand and a company program that requires experienced pilots to transition into instructor roles.
Sun Country trimming travel reflects a larger crisis in aviation, as the industry is losing pilots at a higher rate than it is hiring them.
According to reports, the gap between supply and demand is expected to peak this year at a shortfall of 24,000 pilots.
Experts maintain that this dearth is driven by a combination of factors, including mandatory retirements, surging demand for air travel, and a training pipeline that was seriously disrupted by the pandemic.
As a result, carriers are increasingly canceling routes and grounding aircraft while pilots are experiencing the fastest salary growth in aviation history.
In 2016, the median US airline pilot earned $127,820.
By 2024, that figure had risen to $226,600, a staggering 77% increase.
Moreover, senior captains at major airlines can earn as much as $500,000 per year while widebody long-haul captains at American, Delta, and United Airlines command compensation in excess of $700,000.
Despite the obvious financial benefits of this career, the cost and length of training are barriers that deter potential pilots and/or delay the entry of new pilots to the market.
Before they are eligible to fly for a commercial carrier, airline pilots must amass 1,500 flight hours, a standard that typically takes two to three years and $70,000 to $110,000 to meet.
And while the industry faces a shortage of new pilots, it is battling an exodus of the old.
The FAA mandates that airline pilots retire at 65, and a large swath of pilots is now reaching that age simultaneously. Experts maintain that this retirement wave is presently at its peak, effectively creating the widest gap between retirement and entry in modern aviation history.
According to experts, relief may be a long time coming; consulting firm Oliver Wyman said the shortage is predicted to continue “well into the decade.”
According to their estimates, even by 2032, the industry will remain short of around 17,000 qualified pilots.
Regional carriers and smaller airlines are disproportionately affected by the crisis, as larger carriers tend to hire in waves, luring experienced captains away.
Many regional airlines have reported difficulty keeping captains long enough to develop first officers, typically because major airlines offer a higher base pay and the promise of rapid escalation.
Consequently, stories about pilot shortages persist and usually center on schedule reductions among smaller carriers, even when major airlines appear to be staffed.
While the pilot shortage is a global challenge, it varies by region. While North America’s crisis is driven as much by retirement rates as by growth, Asia-Pacific is grappling with the single largest new pilot requirement, driven by the rapid expansion of commercial aviation across China, India, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific.
And pilots are not the only aviation profession with a deficit.
The FAA is facing a staffing crisis trying amid a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers.
Despite the nationwide demand for controllers, the legal requirement to retire at 56 is a deterrent. Air pilots can continue flying under federal rules until age 65, but controllers must leave the profession almost a decade earlier, regardless of experience.
The FAA has had this mandatory rule since 1971, citing concerns that older controllers have to make rapid decisions on the job. While there was no scientific evidence to support the claim that controllers over 56 were likely to make errors, the FAA has not changed the mandatory retirement age.
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