US lawmakers support FAA flight-hour rule

Faced once again with a pilot shortage as air travel ramps up in line with COVID-19 vaccinations, US regional airline executives have renewed their call for a relaxation of the FAA controversial 1,500-hour flight-training pilot qualification standard, saying it imposes unnecessary barriers to entry into the profession, reports Travel Weekly. The Regional Airlines Association (RAA) wants the FAA to allow pilots to qualify with fewer hours in the air, replacing some of it with time in a flight simulator. "We all know you can get a very qualified pilot in far less time than it takes today," PSA Airlines president Dion Flannery told the RAA Leadership Conference in Washington DC on September 27-28, 2021. However, an influential congressman told the conference the likelihood of the rule being changed was remote. “Having been there when we wrote the rule, I feel very obligated to it,” House Subcommittee on Aviation chairman Rick Larsen told a question-and-answer session at the conference. But some regional carriers said they were already experiencing a re-emerging pilot shortage, which before the pandemic had forced many to reduce their schedules, while it had also contributed to industry bankruptcies and closures.<br/>