Pilot Retirement Age Jumps to 67: What the 'Experienced Pilots Fly Act' Means for Air Travel and Careers

This bill, the Let Experienced Pilots Fly Act of 2025, is pretty straightforward: it raises the mandatory retirement age for commercial airline pilots—those flying scheduled passenger or cargo routes (Part 121 operations)—from 65 to 67 years old. This change takes effect immediately upon enactment. Not only does it allow current pilots to keep flying for two more years, but it also allows pilots who retired after turning 65 to come back to the cockpit until they hit 67. The main goal here is to keep experienced hands on the controls and help airlines deal with staffing needs.

The Experience Economy: Keeping Seasoned Pilots in the Air

For the pilot workforce, this is a major shift. If you’re a pilot approaching 65, you just got a two-year extension on your career. If you’re an airline, you get to retain highly experienced captains without having to hire and train replacements immediately. For example, a captain who might have been forced to retire next month can now stay on, potentially reducing the training pipeline pressure for carriers. The bill also includes protection for past actions, meaning neither pilots nor airlines can be penalized for following the age rules that were in place at the time, whether it was the old 65 limit or the new 67 limit (SEC. 2).

The Fine Print on Safety and Careers

While keeping experienced pilots is a benefit, the bill is careful about the medical checks. It states that the FAA can’t require pilots to take more frequent or harder medical exams just because of their age, unless the FAA Administrator determines it’s necessary for safety. However, there’s a specific rule for older pilots: anyone 60 or older flying in these operations must hold a first-class medical certificate that expires every six months (SEC. 2). This means more frequent trips to the doctor for older crew members, maintaining a higher standard of physical readiness than for younger pilots.

From a career ladder perspective, this change means a potential slowdown for junior pilots. If senior captains stay in their high-paying positions for two more years, it delays the openings for First Officers to move up to Captain, and for new hires to get their foot in the door. This ripple effect will be felt across the seniority lists, impacting the career progression of those in their late 20s and 30s who are waiting for those top spots to open up.

Labor Relations and Global Airspace

One provision that matters a lot to pilots is the requirement that if an air carrier needs to change a labor agreement or benefit plan because of this new law, they must agree to those changes with the pilots’ designated union representative (SEC. 2). This prevents airlines from unilaterally changing contracts based on the new retirement age, ensuring that the union has a seat at the table regarding pay, benefits, and retirement plans for those extra two years.

It’s also important to note the international caveat: the new 67-year-old limit doesn't apply to flights in the airspace of foreign countries that still ban pilots over 65. If a flight goes to a country with a stricter age limit, the pilot still has to adhere to that country's rules. Finally, the FAA has been directed to send a report to Congress within six months to study whether the age limit should be raised even higher than 67 in the future, suggesting this might not be the final word on pilot retirement ages.