Simple Flying
Prachi Patel
07 October 2025
On Friday, October 3, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rejected a proposal by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to raise the mandatory retirement age for commercial airline pilots. The proposal, debated during ICAO’s 42nd General Assembly in Montreal, sought to extend the global age limit for multi-crew international operations from 65 to 67.
According to Boeing’s latest Pilot and Technician Outlook, around 660,000 new pilots are needed over the next two decades to operate and maintain the growing global fleet. Thus, several airlines supported IATA’s proposal to raise the retirement age, saying it would help retain qualified and experienced pilots for longer and buy time while the next generation of aviators enters the workforce.
Furthermore, the association highlighted that when the limit was raised from 60 to 65 in 2006, there was no increase in safety incidents. It also noted that countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and Canada have no upper age limit for pilots.
ICAO Rejects IATA Proposal to Raise Pilot Retirement Age to 67 - Simple Flying - 07 Oct 2025
