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Senators ask Biden administration to back higher pilot retirement age

A bipartisan group of five U.S. senators consisting of inbound Senate Bulk Leader John Thune advised President Joe Biden's administration on Wednesday to back worldwide efforts to raise the compulsory pilot retirement age.

Last year, Congress rejected a push to raise the necessary airline company pilot retirement age to 67 from 65. International guidelines prevent airline pilots older than 65 from flying in the majority of nations outside the United States.

The group of senators is led by Marsha Blackburn and includes her fellow Republicans Thune and Lindsey Graham as well as Democrat Mark Kelly and independent Joe Manchin.

They advised U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to supporter at the International Civil Aviation Company, an company of the United Nations, for hiking the retirement age. They did not suggest a specific age.

The American public deserves the most certified and skilled pilots when traveling, the senators wrote in the letter initially reported .

The State Department, Federal Aviation Administration and the Air Line Pilots Association did not right away respond to ask for comment. A group representing significant airlines declined to comment.

The senators prompted the U.S. objective to ICAO to not spend this dispute resting on the sidelines. If the United States cedes our management function in this area on the international stage, we understand that China - who is presently and actively joining our partners to promote for raising the pilot retirement age - will gladly fill that void. The FAA in February asked Congress to offer it time to conduct additional research study before raising the retirement age. The U.S. House of Representatives had actually voted 351-69 in July 2023 to approve a sweeping air travel costs that would also raise the compulsory pilot retirement age to 67. However the provision was dropped from the final legislation gone by Congress.

The Air Line Pilots Association has actually opposed raising the retirement age and said such a move could trigger airline company scheduling and pilot training problems and likewise require resuming pilot contract talks. The U.S. mission to ICAO in Montreal has actually been without an ambassador because Chesley Sully Sullenberger, the commercial airline pilot who securely landed a Jet A320 on New York's. Hudson River in 2009, stepped down in July 2022. Biden nominated. previous Florida Guv Charlie Christ to the post in 2023, however. the Senate has actually not validated the consultation.

(source: Reuters)