Republican Senator Ted Cruz, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, has called on President Donald Trump to back a global effort to raise the mandatory airline pilot retirement age to 67. In a letter reported by Reuters, Cruz urged the administration to support the proposal at this week’s United Nations aviation meeting in Montreal. The senator said current policy is “forcing thousands of highly qualified and experienced pilots into early retirement every year.”
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will weigh the proposal, advanced by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), when delegates gather for its triennial assembly on Tuesday. IATA represents about 350 airlines worldwide and has argued the increase can be made “without any impact to aviation safety.”
According to Reuters, the plan has already won support from Canada, Australia, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford are scheduled to attend the Montreal session.
Labor groups remain opposed. Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, said studies have shown greater health risks and a decline in cognitive skills as pilots age.
“The United States is the global leader in aviation safety, and we should resist any attempts to arbitrarily make changes to the regulatory framework that has helped us achieve this record,” ALPA said in a statement.
Congress rejected a similar proposal in 2024 after the FAA urged further study before altering retirement limits. International rules currently cap airline pilot service under FAR Part 121 at age 65. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also called current air traffic controller age limits into question earlier this year.
Airline pilots have to pass a checkride every 6 months. Controllers don’t. There is no objective measure of controllers’ performance so it’s pretty crazy to assume there is no issue with increasing the retirement age.