A new report from global enterprise software developer IFS has set out the brain drain challenge for aviation companies and says artificial intelligence could be the answer.

The ‘Combatting the MRO brain drain in commercial and defence aviation’ whitepaper highlights that the sector is facing an ageing workforce.

Prior to the Covid pandemic 35% of maintenance workers in commercial aviation were between 55 and 64 years old, with over a third approaching retirement, the report states.

It adds: “The challenges that MRO organizations were facing pre-pandemic quickly became a reality as the world became open for business once again. Today, the percentage of mechanics aged 18 to 30 is in the single digits.”

IFS says that recruitment has been unable to keep up with demand because the aviation sector is unable to compete with other sectors on wages and remuneration levels for less desirable shift work.

And is points out that there are no quick wins in addressing the situation. “For MRO organizations, the answer to the labour shortage is not as simple as replacing experienced technicians with junior technicians.

“Experienced technicians demonstrate greater efficiency at troubleshooting, with an intuitive understanding of the solutions to complex issues. This knowledge enables them to quickly identify and resolve problems, streamlining the repair process.

“In comparison, junior technicians often lack the experience or knowledge of which procedures to reference to address aircraft issues independently, so they may be more reliant on painstakingly searching through manuals or require help from more experienced colleagues—making their troubleshooting process more resource-intensive and time-consuming.”

The report states: “The current labour shortage challenge facing the MRO is not going to go away by itself. To improve recruitment and retention rates, MROs need to understand and empathize with the new generation of technicians.

“The new generation of workers are looking for more tools than just a torque wrench or even a borescope. We now live in a digital world—they have AR and VR on their personal devices, and they have AI assistants on their new phones.”

Aviation Business News is once again on the search for the aviation businesses that are considered by their employers to be the sector’s best places to work.

Registrations are now open for the Best Places To Work In Aviation 2025 awards, an accolade that will put your business out in front as you meet the challenge of people and talent.