Mesa Airlines says 5% of its pilots jumped ship to larger carriers in April

Mesa Air Group CEO Jonathan Ornstein told a US Senate panel on Friday that the airline lost nearly 5% of its pilots in April to larger carriers, underscoring a staffing shortage the industry is grappling with as travel demand surges. "The pilot shortage is the single greatest threat to the industry I have witnessed since 9/11," Ornstein told the Senate Commerce aviation subcommittee at a hearing in Arizona Friday. He said Mesa Airlines "lost almost 5% of our pilot workforce in one month as major airlines and operators of larger jets hired our pilots." Pilot shortages have dogged carriers for years. Despite $54b in US government COVID-19 airline payroll funding, many airlines paused hiring and offered buyouts and retirement packages to thousands of aviators. A snap back in travel demand, however, has left them scrambling to ramp up staffing. Delta and United are looking to hire 200 pilots each a month. Staffing woes have marred operations in recent weeks at carriers such as Alaska Air Group and JetBlue Airways, resulting in mass flight cancellations. To prevent further disruption, airlines have cut summer schedules. Shortages are even more acute at regional airlines, which are facing a soaring attrition rate because of poaching by higher-paying national carriers. In March, SkyWest said it planned to end service to 29 communities under the government's subsidy program to provide air service to smaller communities, blaming insufficient pilots. Mesa noted regional airlines provide service to 65% of the nation's commercially served airports.<br/>