Pilot brain drain hits Africa as US enjoys brain gain-IATA

The Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Willie Walsh has observed that, with the 1500-hour flight rule, there is a brain drain in Africa as it concerns qualified pilots.

While Africa suffers brain drain, Walsh noted that the United States of America enjoys brain gain, as the country has greater in-migration of skilled pilots than out-migration.

Walsh pointed out that, the rule has over time created a situation whereby highly qualified individuals leave their home region or country in search of better career prospects in the USA.

The DG, however, noted that the 1500 rule does not exist outside of the remits of the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and, therefore, not in the rest of the world.

Walsh stated that rather it had caused a huge pilot shortage in America, making the region attractive to qualified pilots across the world, including those from Africa.

Walsh gave the insight while fielding questions from journalists during the virtual launch of “Focus Africa” last week.

“The 1500-hour rule has caused a shortage of qualified pilots in the USA, not in Europe. It makes the country attractive. In Africa, it leads to a situation whereby talents leave the continent to other countries”.

Meanwhile, the 1500-hour rule is a stipulation on how long it takes to become a commercial pilot in the United States and Canada.

The rule is a law by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that requires all pilots in America/Canada to have at least 1500 hours of experience/flight time before being eligible to fly for a regional airline or major airline (such as FedEx, American Airlines, Delta, etc.)

Whereas pilots in the rest of the world only need 250 hours.

This means that newly qualified cadets cannot become airline First Officers until they acquire the hours of flight time required and are therefore forced to spend additional time (usually 12-24 months) hour building as instructors (or other methods) until they can apply to these airlines.

This differs from the law set out by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in the UK and Europe, which allows pilots to enter into a major airline after their flight training (with a frozen airline transport pilot license) and far fewer hours of just 250 flight hours.

Before the 1500-hour rule, prospective pilots could earn their ATP with a Commercial pilot’s license, a minimum of 250 hours of flying, plus airline-specific training.

Aircraft giant, Boeing recently raised concern over the dearth of pilots, technicians, and cabin brew as the plane maker In its 2022-2041 Pilot and Technician Outlook says Africa is set to need 20,000 pilots, 21,000 technicians, and 26,000 cabin crew.

According to the PTO, Africa is set to need 20,000 pilots, 21,000 technicians, and 26,000 cabin crew. Meanwhile, China will require 126,000 pilots, 124,000 technicians, and 162,000 cabin crew.

The European market demand for pilots is estimated to reach 122,000, 120,000 technicians, and 207,000 cabin crew, while the Latin American market will need 35,000 pilots, 35,000 technicians, and 48,000 cabin crew.

For the Middle East, 53,000 pilots, 50,000 technicians, and 99,000 cabin crew will be needed compared to 128,000; 134,000, and 173,000 respectively in North America and 22,000, 24,000, and 38,000 in Northeast Asia.

In Nigeria, the scarcity of skilled manpower to replace the aging workforce is putting the country’s aviation industry on the edge as the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology; Zaria trains professionals yearly without companies to engage them for their services.

Aside from Nigeria, the global aviation industry is facing a similar problem. A widespread deficit of pilots across all continents has affected the sector, particularly in recent years, with cases of pilot shortages regularly occurring.

Wole Shadare