Stories about flight cancellations and delays, stranded passengers, lost luggage and long security lines at airports have made headlines over the last several months and will increase during the holiday travel season. What continues to fuel these disturbances?
Studies show the aviation industry has been one of the economic sectors most negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the California Department of Public Health, employees in the air transportation industry were 3.5% times more likely to experience COVID-19 outbreaks at their job sites compared to California industries overall.
To survive the global health crisis, many public and private employers were forced to make significant staff reductions, impose layoffs and offer alternative work options, such as telecommuting and flexible work schedules. These measures significantly contributed to a severe labor shortage across a wide range of industries, including aviation and aerospace.
Over time, as COVID workplace prevention measures were lifted, many employees expected pandemic-related benefits to continue as the new normal. Others either found employment elsewhere or decided to pursue less-demanding work with better pay and benefits – contributing to a movement commonly referred to as “The Great Resignation.” A key takeaway is that, as a result of the pandemic, people have fundamentally changed the way they define the role of work in their lives.
Most recently, a new trend called “Quiet Quitting” has entered the employment arena as we emerge from the pandemic. Calling it an effort to set better boundaries for work-life balance, some workers have decided to perform the bare minimum in their jobs. Public services like fire and police protection are just a few of the jobs that often require long hours and working weekends, and which may be impacted by this change in public attitudes and work levels.
Private aviation business, like many other organizations vying for the best talent, have outpaced public sector employers in keeping aware of these employment challenges and taking a proactive approach. However, workforce shortages in business and commercial aviation still appear at all levels, ranging from mechanics and line service personnel to pilots, flight attendants and air traffic controllers.
According to the National Business Aircraft Association, the U.S. aircraft maintenance industry alone lost 50,000 jobs during the early months of the pandemic. In addition, The Boeing Company projects that more than 600,000 new pilots and technicians are needed to address projected aviation and aerospace industry growth in the next 20 years.
The good news for airport businesses is that demand for air travel has recovered faster than expected, and private-sector employment is rising. A Pew analysis of Labor Department data shows the private sector has been quicker than the public sector to implement the changes needed, such as pay increases and more flexible benefits, to retain staff. In fact, the year-over-year growth rate for hourly private sector salary and wages in 2021 exceeded that for state and local governments by the largest margin on record.
It is also important to consider the COVID-19 crisis also has caused a spike in union organizing activity. Increased public concern about health, safety and job security have provided an opportunity for labor unions to organize new groups of workers and bring in new members. Often, government employee benefits packages are subject to lengthy union negotiation processes or authorization from elected officials, which has contributed to a slower recovery of public employee jobs.
What does this mean for the general aviation industry? Public policymakers and airport sponsors must make it a top priority to address labor shortages. If public sector employers cannot reverse the current trend, it will negatively impact the delivery of services and slow the overall economic recovery.
In the current situation, tenants at many municipal airports are ramping up operations, staffing and productivity to pre-pandemic levels, while airport operations, police and administrative staff remain in short supply. The failure of government to maintain a qualified workforce may not only impair efficiency and customer service, but negatively impact airport safety and security.
This is especially evident in the ongoing shortage of FAA personnel, which has resulted in pilots struggling to obtain essential documentation required for flight, including medical certificates. Flight training activities are also limited at many airports, causing delays in recurrent training and closing the pipeline for future aviators.
For the aviation industry to continue supporting communities, significant workforce challenges such as the shortage of qualified pilots and technicians must be addressed. Filling this gap will not only require more pay, but mechanisms to support an employee’s desires for job fulfillment and empowerment.
To address the labor shortage in aviation and aerospace, the House Small Business Committee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Workforce Development is proposing a solution to focus on workforce initiatives such as training grants and paid apprenticeships. These measures are intended increase the talent pool and enable young people to choose a career path earlier in life.
For example, through an apprenticeship program at San Bernadino Valley College in California, community college students are learning the technical skills needed to attain an airframe and powerplant mechanics license, from sheet metal to avionics technology. With additional state and federal support, programs such as this could expand to communities nationwide.
To achieve economic recovery and grow profitability, airport sponsors and tenant businesses must work together to meet the current demand for air travel, incentivize employees to return to work, and develop programs to attract, train and retain the future aviation workforce. Policy leaders in government must recognize this, since the efficiency, safety and security of or our national air transportation system depend on it.
