Before the corona crisis, pilots were in greater demand than ever before, because many airlines were desperately looking for pilots. That changed suddenly from March 2020, because many carriers now have too many pilots and too little work for them. The pilots' association EPA assumes that around 18.000 pilots will remain permanently unemployed.

The assessment of the European professional representation is based on the assumption that there will be continued low demand. There are currently around 65.000 captains and first officers in Europe, according to the EPA. The Cockpit Association estimates that around 1.200 of the 5.500 cockpit positions at Lufthansa alone will be eliminated.

While it was very easy to change employers “before Corona” and, ideally, there was a bonus just for signing the contract, vacant cockpit positions are so rare that they are almost like winning the lottery for those affected. The EPA assumes that around 18.000 pilots will no longer find a job in the next few years and will therefore be permanently unemployed in their profession. Not flying can also have fatal consequences with regard to the licenses, because after a certain time these are frozen. The reactivation or maintenance in the simulator is very expensive and financially affordable for only a few pilots. Young copilts in particular, who often still have to pay off the mountain of debts from their training, are downright forced to work in other industries and thus end the dream of flying.

If the aviation industry recovers, the current situation may lead to an acute shortage of pilots in a few years' time. The reason for this can also be seen in the fact that new training courses have been greatly reduced and older pilots want to take their well-deserved retirement at some point. Lufthansa does that, for example Flying school in Bremen closewhich has led to considerable criticism from the Cockpit Association.