Pilot Shortage: Sustainability Perspective

Abstract

Verbatim from Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons. Not paraphrased, not summarized.

Air transport is recently going through an exponential economic growth (ICAO, 2016). Similarly, industry forecast reports predict an upward trend for the next 20 years (Boeing, 2015). While these forecasts offer many opportunities, there are concerns as to whether or not this growth is sustainable. Defined as meeting “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”, sustainable development (SD), also adopted by United Nations (UN), brings more comprehensive approach to the subject (WCED, 1987, p. 43). The SD envisions a “balanced strategy” among economic (profit), social (people) and environmental (planet) domains, also known as “triple bottom line” (Elkington et al., 2007, p. 1). This balanced strategy can be represented in various ways reflecting interactions among three domains (Lozano, 2008). As holding a vision of going beyond present in terms of both time and place, SD emphasizes multi-dimensional thinking through three domains. From a sustainability perspective, the global pilot shortage becomes one of the most relevant subjects in the air transport industry. Since the pilot supply directly impacts aviation operations, it has substantial reflections on SD domains, especially economic and social. In this regard, predicted pilot scarcity, which may get worse with global competition attracting more pilots, has negative impacts on global and local markets. Considering interconnected nature of industries on a global scale, the impact of pilot shortage likely influences related industries, such as tourism, trade, customer services, etc. with much greater magnitudes impacting direct and indirect aviation jobs (ATAG, 2016). Additionally, air transport contributes to people’s mobility with its high connectivity. Thus, economic and social domains may directly be affected as a result of points mentioned above. As a global commitment, UN announced 17 “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” for sustainable shared future in 2015. In this context, Air Transport Action Group’s Report (2016) is an analysis of air transport through SDGs. Similarly, reviewing the pilot shortage through SD perspective emerges as a need in academia so as to enable better appreciation of underlying origins of pilot shortage and sustainable solutions in addition to current studies (Higgins et al., 2013; Lutte and Lovelace, 2017). Sustainability concept may enable more systematic approaches to the formulation and attainment of SDGs. Besides, reexamining specific SDGs of “gender equality”, “economic growth” and “partnership” may contribute to the current discussions within aviation. This paper aims to review the pilot shortage with sustainability perspective and reflect on for possible scenarios and solutions. References: ATAG – Air Transport Action Group. (2016). Aviation: Benefits Beyond Borders. Geneva. Boeing. (2015). Current Market Outlook 2015-2034. Boeing.Com, 30. Elkington, J., Tickell, S., and Lee, M., (2007). 20 Years of global leadership. London: SustainAbility. Higgins, J., Lovelace, K., Bjerke, E., Lounsberry, N., Lutte, R., Friedenzohn, D., Craig, P. (2013). An Investigation of the United States Airline Pilot Labor Supply, (June), 36. ICAO. (2016). ICAO Long-Term Traffic Forecasts Passenger and Cargo, (July). Lozano, R. (2008). Envisioning sustainability three-dimensionally. Journal of Cleaner Production, 16(17), 1838-1846. Lutte, R., & Lovelace, K. (2017). Airline Pilot Supply in the US: Factors Influencing the Collegiate Pilot Pipeline. Journal of Aviation Technology & Engineering, 6(2), 53. WCED. (1987). Our Common Future. World Commission on Environment and Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Authors

• Okal, Adem Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Kearns, Suzanne Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Keywords

• Pilot supply
• pilot shortage
• sustainability
• sustainable development goals
• Human Geography