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Aviation: Crew

Asked by Jim ShannonDemocratic Unionist PartyDepartment for TransportTabled Answered 14 October 2025UIN 77069

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of commercial airline pilots the UK will need to train each year to provide the workforce required (a) at current levels and (b) to meet anticipated levels of future demand.

Answered by Keir Mather

As the UK aviation sector operates predominantly in the private sector, it is for individual airlines to recruit and train pilots to meet today’s demand and the demand of the future. I therefore welcome the funded pilot training programmes that British Airways, TUI and Jet2.com have introduced, that will ensure a sustainable pipeline of future pilots.

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