More than half of the world's airline pilots are no longer flying for a living, according to a worldwide survey highlighting how the Covid-19 pandemic has devastated the profession.
The Pilot Survey 2021, by aviation recruitment firm Goose and publisher FlightGlobal, showed just 43% of pilots remain in their job. The October poll covered almost 2,600 flight crew worldwide.
While vaccinations remain aviation's great hope for a recovery, infection flareups and mutant variants of the virus have dashed prospects for a steady return of scheduled services.
The International Air Transport Association has said flying may not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024, putting a lengthy strain on the pilot profession.
In the survey, 30% of respondents described themselves as unemployed and 17% said they were furloughed. Another 6% still work in aviation but in a non-flying role, and 4% had switched to a different industry altogether.
Of the regions represented in the survey, the U.S. was least hardest hit, with 20% of pilots unemployed. China had the largest group of furloughed pilots at 24%. In a sign of some optimism, almost three-quarters of pilots expect the industry to fully recover in one to three years.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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