Boeing forecasts demand for 2.4m new aviation personnel
According to Boeing’s 2024 Pilot and Technician Outlook (PTO), 674,000 pilots, 716,000 maintenance technicians and 980,000 cabin crew members are needed over the next 20 years to support growing commercial fleets and meet the long-term increase in air travel.
Chris Broom, vice president of commercial training solutions at Boeing Global Services, said: “Driven by aviation traffic trending above pre-pandemic levels, personnel attrition and commercial fleet growth, the demand for aviation personnel continues to rise.”
Through 2043, the PTO projects:
- Demand for new personnel driven primarily by single-aisle airplanes, except in Africa and Middle East where widebody airplane demand leads
- Eurasia, China and North America drive demand for more than half of new industry personnel
- South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa are the fastest-growing regions for personnel with staffing demand expected to more than triple over 20 years.
- Two-thirds of new personnel will address replacement due to attrition, while one-third supports growth in the commercial fleet.
The PTO forecast includes the following projections for industry needs through 2043:
Region | New pilots | New technicians | New cabin crew |
Global | 674,000 | 716,000 | 980,000 |
Africa | 23,000 | 25,000 | 28,000 |
China | 130,000 | 137,000 | 163,000 |
Eurasia | 155,000 | 167,000 | 240,000 |
Latin America | 39,000 | 42,000 | 54,000 |
Middle East | 68,000 | 63,000 | 104,000 |
North America | 123,000 | 123,000 | 184,000 |
Northeast Asia | 25,000 | 30,000 | 43,000 |
Oceania | 11,000 | 12,000 | 18,000 |
South Asia | 40,000 | 40,000 | 49,000 |
Southeast Asia | 60,000 | 77,000 | 97,000 |
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