In September 2022, the US Federal Aviation Administration rejected a bid from Republic Airways to let graduates of its in-house flight school qualify as first officers with less than half the usual flight experience. The decision reignited a long-running dispute between the industry’s push to ease a chronic pilot shortage and safety advocates determined to preserve standards introduced after a fatal 2009 crash.
What made the FAA conclude that 750 hours wasn’t enough — and where does this leave the industry’s pilot-shortage problem?
Continue reading FAA Rejects Republic Airways’ 750-Hour Pilot Plan