A government task force identified in 2022 a "largely untapped" solution to the shortage of pilots. But it acknowledged that the cost of training was a "major obstacle" for them.
Airlines are working to recruit new pilots en masse to compensate for the many retirements during the pandemic. But before becoming a pilot, you have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to pay for the various certifications in addition to tuition and flight hours. "It's so expensive historically to become a pilot that it's almost essential to come from a certain background," says Darrell Horton, 37.