Japan: Pandemic hampers pilot training as aviator shortage looms

The coronavirus pandemic has hampered pilot training programs overseas, and Japan’s aviation industry is bracing for a shortage of commercial aviators in the near future. Airlines and universities often dispatch trainees to facilities abroad, but the countries hosting them have stopped issuing visas to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, bringing training programs to a halt. As the large number of pilots recruited during the bubble economy from the late 1980s to early 1990s will start retiring around 2030, the government, airlines and universities have been trying to increase training to counter a pilot shortage that could hamper flight services. About 50 trainees of ANA have been affected by the March 16 closure of flight schools in Germany and the US run by the Lufthansa Group, ANA officials said. Low-cost carrier Peach Aviation, also saw training programs for five trainees in New Zealand canceled from mid-March. <br/>