Pilot shortage causing headwinds for northern airlines

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This article was published 08/03/2023 (960 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At the beginning of May, seven northern Indigenous pilots will start their commercial pilot training program in Thompson.

Another 11 individuals, also Indigenous and mostly from the North, will start their personal pilot training at the Thompson airport.

They are all part of the second year of operation of the Atik Mason Indigenous Pilot Pathway program run and funded entirely by Exchange Income Corp. (EIC), the owners of Calm Air, Perimeter Aviation, Keewatin Air and a number of other regional airlines. (All the students get tuition and room and board paid for entirely by EIC.)

While EIC has run into some hot water over flight cancellations that have caused disruptions to Manitoba’s northern circuit court operations, its Indigenous Pilot Pathway program is an effort to build a home-grown solution to a national and international problem these days — pilot shortages.

Northern airlines face challenges different from the major national and international carriers.

A 2018 report by the Canadian Council for Aviation and Aerospace estimated the industry needed to hire 55,000 new workers by 2025 to keep up with projected growth and replace retirees. That included 7,300 new pilots and 5,300 new aircraft maintenance engineers.

The report said the number of domestic graduates will only account for a quarter of those positions. It said the greatest current challenge is the high cost for new commercial pilots combined with historically low starting salaries and non-linear career paths.

Data from Transport Canada indicates the number of commercial pilot licences issued in Canada has significantly declined in recent years An average of 1,116 licences were issued annually between 2012 and 2019, but 474 licences were awarded in 2020, 293 in 2021 and 238 in 2022.

Mike Pyle, the CEO of EIC said in 2019, before the pandemic there was already a pilot shortage, with baby boomers retiring and not enough new pilots being trained. In 2018 the company, which also owned Newfoundland-based PAL Airlines, acquired Moncton Flight College as a way to build its own pilot pipeline.

“Our perspective on this is that it’s a generational issue,” said Pyle. “We are going to be short pilots for the foreseeable future, maybe not as acute as it is right now. But in the long term developing your own pool of pilots is going to be huge.”

EIC along with support from Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakinak (MKO) and northern tribal councils and bands rounded up more than 150 applicants for the 11 new positions for its Indigenous Pilot Pathways program.

Robin Jacuzzi, EIC’s director of aviation programs, said an even greater percentage of applicants this year are qualified as per Transport Canada guidelines.

Seven participants out of 11 from its first year of operation are returning for their commercial license this year.

“We are super pleased with the results,” she said.

This year the program will have twice as many planes and twice as many instructors and there is likely to be students from Nunavut and maybe from northwestern Ontario.

Airlines that operate in the North — where many residents rely on flights for transportation and goods — say disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, a Canada-wide pilot shortage and new fatigue regulations are creating headwinds.

“With the COVID effect, that took a lot of people out of the marketplace,” said Michael Rodyniuk, president and chief executive officer of Canadian North. “It’s not as attractive as it used to be to become a pilot.”

Rodyniuk said new regulations that aim to reduce fatigue-related risks restrict the amount of time crew members can be on the job. He said that means airlines need more flight crews and it’s taking longer for pilots to get the needed experience to fly to locations in the High Arctic.

That’s why Pyle said it is particularly important for EIC to establish its own pipeline of trained pilots.

“We are flying into the Far North,” he said. “It is not the sexiest location for pilots when they have options. If we could train First Nation pilots who are flying hone to their communities there is a much higher chance that they will stay with this as a full long term career as opposed to this just being a stepping stone to a major airline.”

Meanwhile, Pyle said it has a temporary solution in place for the circuit court flight disruption issue with a long term solution in the works.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca

— with files from The Canadian Press