LSUA Aviation Student Program Addresses Pilot Shortage in Airline Industry

The demand for pilots in the next 10 years remains strong despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABC 31 News Reporter Keisha Swafford has the story on how a local university is addressing pilot shortage.

In the next 15 years, the FAA requires commercial pilots to retire at 65.

Gulf Coast Aviation Instructor Ryan Traina says, “They’re saying at this current rate, they’re not going to have enough pilots to replace them in time, which just means for the company more delays, maybe higher ticket prices, really just a kind of a trickle-down effect all the way down to the consumer and they’re really worried about that.”

As summer approaches, prices for air travel have no signs of cooling down.

Traina says, “That’s the big push of basically we want you type of attitude towards new pilots in the industry.”

LSUA’s aviation program teaches students how to fly.

LSUA Aviation Student Kaitlyn Greer says, “I get excited just thinking about learning how to fly an airplane. Not a lot of people can say they can do that. You just get paid to travel and just see things that a lot of people won’t be able to see, and I feel this program really offers a lot. You see things you’ve never seen before like maybe a different building you’ve never noticed; the way people look when they’re walking along the street, it’s just very fun to see.”

LSUA welcomes new students to become certified through their program.

Professor of Aviation Academic Advisor Shari Drerup says, “But we don’t just want to train pilots with the actual flight training, we want you to come to us and have a four-year degree where you get about 60 hours of classroom instruction on everything that you need to know to be a corporate or a professional pilot.”

Boeing Pilot and Technician Outlook projects 128,000 pilots are needed in the U.S.

To enroll in the program, go to lsua.edu/aviation.