Flight school working to quickly train pilots due to airline shortage: "We are racing the clock"
MIAMI - Flight delays and cancellations have frustrated passengers across the country. A big contributor has been the lack of staffing in the aviation industry, especially pilots.
CBS4 spoke with ATP flight school about how they are working to get pilots in the sky as quickly and safely as possible to help combat the crisis.
"We are racing the clock. We are trying to get pilots as quickly as we can out to the main lines. The main lines are trying to get pilots through training as quick and safe as they can and travel demand has increased so the race is there," said ATP's Florida training support manager Skeeter Moreno.
He said there was already a pilot shortage before the pandemic. But, during COVID-19 many airline staffers took buyouts, making the need even more dire.
ATP said the current projections show next year there will be a shortage of 12,000 pilots.
Moreno added that it's not just a shortage of pilots, there's a need across the aviation industry.
"You have pilots, you have flight attendants, you have airline mechanics. Super big shortage of airline mechanics. You have air traffic control. Those are the four moving parts to get an airplane on and off the ground. So, the shortage is defiantly between all departments," she said.
