Record numbers of us traveled by air this Fourth of July. And it hasn’t exactly been a smooth flight. Travelers have had to deal with a slew of delays and cancellations brought on by everything from bad weather to tech glitches.

Adding to the problem: shortages of critical staff, including pilots. 

The prospect of a pilot shortage was on the radar for TD Cowen’s Helane Becker for a good decade or so.

But, she said the pandemic, along with a mandatory retirement age of 65, sped up the timeline.

“Airlines went to their employees and said, ‘If you were intending to retire between 2020 and 2022, or even 2023, consider retiring now,'” Becker said.

And thousands of pilots did, leading to a pipeline problem that Becker said the industry is scrambling to resolve. It can take years for pilots to get the training they need to become certified to fly commercial aircraft. And that training can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.  

“The number one thing that they’re doing is setting up training academies to identify people and work with them,” Becker said.

Carriers are also working to make the job more attractive, said Henry Harteveldt of Atmosphere Research Group.

“The airlines are able to recruit more people to be pilots by increasing their salaries, improving benefits, and showing to the pilots their intention is to grow,” he said.

And that’s working for both major carriers and regional airlines, Harteveldt said, who have been able to hire about 10,000 of the 18,000 pilots needed this year.