BREAKING NEWS: IATA Calls for Raising Pilot Age Limit to 67

Today, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), representing more than 300 airlines and over 80% of global air traffic, submitted Working Paper A42-WP/349 to the ICAO Assembly calling for the multi-pilot commercial transport age limit to be raised from 65 to 67.This is a turning point. IATA’s proposal—built on years of data and global health trends—confirms what EPAS has long argued: experienced pilots are a vital safety and workforce resource. The evidence is clear:

• Nine countries already permit airline pilots to fly beyond age 65: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, New Zealand, the Russian Federation, Senegal, and Ukraine. None have seen safety degraded by this policy.
• Studies show no increase in medical incapacitation events above age 65.
• WHO data confirms improved health and longevity worldwide, and airline pilots as a group are healthier than the general population.

EPAS has been working in partnership with IATA since our earliest days, aligned on the principle that safety and experience are inseparable. From the start, we recognized that retaining highly trained, veteran aviators strengthens the airline industry’s resilience and protects the traveling public. IATA’s leadership on this issue is now the fulcrum of the lever that will finally move international and U.S. policy forward. And with IATA leading, it is certain that EASA—the European equivalent of the FAA—will follow with support at the ICAO General Assembly meeting in Montreal this September.

For EPAS, this is validation at the highest level. The world’s airlines have now spoken with one voice: raise the age, retain experience, and secure the future of aviation.

Meanwhile, ALPA’s leadership continues to resist this evidence-based reform, positioning themselves behind the curve of global aviation strategy. The industry deserves better than outdated opposition.

EPAS stands ready—together with IATA, ICAO, and States worldwide—to ensure this change is adopted. Together, we will preserve safety, strengthen the pilot workforce, and end age-based discrimination in the cockpit.The future of aviation demands foresight. EPAS is leading with it. IATA has shown it. ALPA is failing it!