Airlines seek to boost flight and ground staff

The post-pandemic surge in air travel has created problems of flight delays and cancellations in Europe and the United States at the beginning of the high summer season in the northern hemisphere highlighting an urgent need for greater human resources on the ground and in the air.

A study by Boeing company predicts that in the next 20 years 2.1 million people will be needed for different positions, including; 602 thousand pilots, 610 thousand aeronautical maintenance technicians, and 899 thousand crew members.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) projects direct employment in the sector to reach 2.7 million, 4.3% more than in 2021, as the industry recovers.

In the world, passenger traffic closed in June with a strong recovery and increased 76.2% compared to June 2021. Latin American airlines registered an increase of 136.6% in passenger traffic in June, the capacity or available seats increased by 107.4 % and the occupancy factor of the flights was 83.3%.

Panama expects to close the year with between 13 million and 15 million passengers moving through Tocumen International Airport, and meanwhile, airlines such as Copa expect to reactivate all their routes and capacity between 2023 and 2024, and for that, they require more personnel.

Despite a global scenario pressured by the rise in fuel prices, the airline began the year with a plan to recruit personnel with the projection of hiring a total of more than 1,300 people, of which 319 will be pilots.

Bolívar Domínguez, vice president of flight operations for Copa Airlines, explained that they are hiring pilots who have recently graduated from the Latin American Higher Aviation Academy (ALAS) and have also launched the Lift Program to train pilots who have already graduated from other academies for two months, to strengthen their skills and competencies.

Copa Airlines expects to close 2021 with 6,822 workers in its different areas and by 2023 reach 7,500 employees and exceed by 3% the jobs it generated directly in 2019.