Experienced Pilots Advancing Safety

EPAS stands for Experienced Pilots Advancing Safety. It is an organization comprised of nearly 2,000 of the world's most seasoned professional airline pilots, unified by a singular, powerful mission: to restore enhanced safety standards to commercial airline flying by working to eliminate the arbitrary forced retirement age of 65 years old for pilots.

Mission and Advocacy
EPAS operates under the conviction that greater experience does, in fact, result in greater safety—not simply because experienced pilots possess more skill, but because they approach flight operations differently, drawing on decades of real-world scenarios and best practices. The organization stresses that seasoned captains should remain on the flight deck so long as they are able to pass rigorous FAA-mandated medical exams and demanding flight checks.

Rather than relying on age as a metric for pilot capability, EPAS advocates for performance-based standards that reflect true operational competence. They argue that the aviation industry benefits immensely from keeping its most talented and disciplined captains actively flying, especially given ongoing concerns about pilot shortages and workforce replenishment.

Core Beliefs

• Experience Enhances Safety: EPAS contends that veteran pilots contribute to safer skies precisely because they "do things differently," not just because of superior technical skills, but by applying wisdom born from thousands of flight hours.
• Medical and Skill Standards Over Arbitrary Age: The group proposes that the industry replace age-based retirement policies with rigorous periodic medical and flight performance checks administered by the FAA, ensuring only genuinely capable pilots continue flying.
• Combating Pilot Shortages: With thousands of airline pilot vacancies and ongoing industry challenges in training new pilots, EPAS's efforts are both a solution to workforce gaps and a means to safeguard aviation safety into the future.

The Path Forward
EPAS is actively engaged in advocacy, working with regulators, airline management, and legislators to push for federal changes that permanently raise or eliminate forced retirement age standards. Their campaign is rooted in both public safety and respect for professional expertise, emphasizing that arbitrary age limits undermine the integrity and security of the commercial airline system.

In profound summary, EPAS champions the notion that safety should never be sacrificed for age, and that the airline industry’s most knowledgeable captains deserve the chance to keep flying as long as they pass the highest standards—no matter their birth year.

Core Position
- Pilot retirement age should be based on competency, performance, and medical fitness, not arbitrary birthdates.- EPAS supports raising or eliminating the FAA’s age-65 rule in line with ICAO recommendations.

Safety & Experience
- Senior captains often have 20,000+ flight hours spanning decades, varied aircraft, and operational environments.- Accident investigations repeatedly show experience is decisive in safe emergency outcomes.- Raising the age from 60 to 65 in 2007 did not increase accidents — safety performance improved.- Veteran captains mentor first officers in real time, transferring judgment, communication skills, and threat/error management.- Many serve as Check Airmen and instructors, directly evaluating and developing the next generation.- ICAO Working Paper 106, supported by major aviation nations, recommends raising or removing the limit.- Six of the ten most important ICAO “Part I” nations support the change — representing 42% of global passenger traffic:  • Australia  • Brazil  • Canada  • China  • Japan  • United Kingdom

Risks of the Current Rule
- Pilot shortages have accelerated upgrades with historically low flight-time requirements.- Many new captains have less than half the flight time of their predecessors.- Industry data shows higher rates of unstable approaches, runway incursions, and procedural deviations among low-time captains.- Abrupt retirements create training gaps and sudden knowledge voids in the cockpit.- Retirement waves trigger an “experience cliff,” erasing operational insight and procedural nuance.- All major U.S. airlines now allow pilots to remain in the First Officer seat indefinitely without ever upgrading to Captain — eliminating a historic safety benchmark for command readiness.

Pilot Shortage & Operational Stability
- ATP certifications are not keeping pace with retirements.- COVID early retirements, fewer military aviators, and rising air travel demand have worsened the shortage.- Without enough captains, airlines must cut routes, delay flights, or outsource operations — increasing operational risk.- Extending careers for healthy, qualified captains reduces staffing pressure and allows for more measured, safer promotions.
Fairness & Consistency
- Part 135 (charter/corporate) pilots can fly well past 65, often into their 70s.- Nine countries already allow airline pilots beyond 65 without safety concerns.- Current policy is discriminatory and inconsistent, especially when foreign pilots over 65 can fly into U.S. airspace while qualified U.S. pilots are grounded.

Medical & Safety Standards
- FAA Class 1 medical exams every 6 months after age 60 already ensure medical fitness.- Increased FAA medical waivers for diagnosed psychological conditions have quietly lowered some historical safety thresholds — yet age remains the only strict cutoff.- Airline pilots are evaluated at least twice in any 12-month period through formal proficiency checks.  This does not include random evaluations conducted by both the airline and the FAA.  In addition, aircrew continuously monitor each other in the cockpit, and every Captain is, by definition, an instructor to their crew.- Raising the age does not lower standards — it retains qualified pilots longer.

Union Opposition — Political, Not Safety-Based
- ALPA’s resistance is driven by seniority politics, not safety.- This stance contradicts ALPA’s anti-discrimination principles and undermines safety by removing experienced captains.

EPAS Policy Goals
- Immediate: Raise the retirement age to 70.- Long-Term: Implement a competency-based standard using simulator proficiency and medical exams, not age limits.