(Reuters) – A bipartisan group of U.S. senators including incoming Majority Leader John Thune on Wednesday urged the Biden administration to back international efforts to raise the mandatory pilot retirement age.
Last year, Congress rejected a push to raise the mandatory airline pilot retirement age to 67 from 65. International rules currently prevent airline pilots older than 65 from flying in most countries outside the United States.
The senators — led by Republican Marsha Blackburn and including Democrats Joe Manchin, Mark Kelly and Republican Lindsey Graham urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to advocate at the International Civil Aviation Organization for hiking the retirement age. “The American public deserves the most qualified and experienced pilots when traveling,” the letter seen by Reuters said.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Diane Craft)
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