You Can Now Fly to Age 65 | Phoenix East Aviation

If you want to be an airline captain, you’re in luck. Your career can now be longer. On December 11, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would rescind the mandatory retirement age of 60 for pilots. The bill was quickly approved, and President Bush signed the law. It is designed to at least temporarily slow the number of pilots that big airlines hire away from er airlines, and that foreign airlines hire away from US airlines.

This new bill allows pilots flying under 14 CFR Part 121 to remain on the flight deck of aircaft requiring multiple crew members, if at least one of the other crewmembers has not yet reached 60 years of age.

Hopefully, for US airlines, this will aslo stem the exodus of age 60 pilots being recruited by India. With not enough pilots to meet their demand, a pilot previously forced toretire under US regulations could continue to fly immeidately by going to India where such regulations do not exist.