美国国家公共电台 NPR--Changing pilots' retirement age is being looked at as a way to fix staffing issues

Changing pilots' retirement¹ age is being looked at as a way to fix staffing issues

Transcript²

Critics say a push to raise the mandatory³ pilot retirement age and cut flight time licensing⁴ requirements may ease a pilot shortage, but that could affect safety.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Airlines blame the high number of flight cancellations this summer in part on staffing shortages, especially among pilots. Some in the industry and in Congress are now calling for big changes, such as raising the retirement age for pilots. Here's NPR's David Schaper.

DAVID SCHAPER, BYLINE⁵: I'm standing⁶ in a terminal at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, one of the world's busiest. And it is busier here this summer than at any time during the pandemic. But the number of flights operating here is still far below 2019 levels. There are almost 25% fewer flights, as regional airlines have had to cut a lot of service to smaller airports all across the country, all because of what the regional airlines say is a huge shortage of pilots.

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LINDSEY GRAHAM: We have a crisis when it comes to airline travel. We're suffering because of this.

SCHAPER: That's South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham at his home state's Greenville-Spartanburg Airport.

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GRAHAM: Airlines have to make decisions. So when you have less pilots, you got to pick what routes to fly. And regional airports, like Greenville and throughout other smaller communities, suffer the most.

SCHAPER: Department of Transportation figures show that more than 30 small airports nationwide have lost more than half of the flight service they used to have, including airports in Toledo, Ohio, Lincoln, Neb. and Rochester, Minn. Drew Lemos is with the Regional Airlines Association.

DREW LEMOS: There are approximately 500 fewer regional aircraft operating today than at the end of 2019. This represents a loss of a quarter of the regional fleet. Five hundred parked aircraft equates⁷ to a deficiency of approximately 5,000 pilots.

SCHAPER: So to keep the industry from losing even more pilots, Graham is sponsoring legislation that would raise the mandatory airline pilot retirement age from 65 to 67.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GRAHAM: In the next two years, 5,000 pilots will be aged⁸ out, not because they're unsafe, just simply because they reach 65. My legislation would allow pilots to continue to fly if they meet the qualifications. We're not dumbing down anything.

SCHAPER: But the unions representing airline pilots disagree.

DENNIS TAJER: It's a bad idea. And it doesn't solve the problem.

SCHAPER: Captain Dennis Tajer is a 737 pilot for American Airlines and spokesman for the Allied⁹ Pilots Association. We caught up at O'Hare after he flew a 737 to Newark and back. And he contends the air travel problems this summer are not simply because of a shortage of pilots.

TAJER: There's a shortage of plans. Management did not plan for this recovery. To save money, they incentivize pilots to retire early. And they never started training the pilots that would fill those other seats.

SCHAPER: Tajer and others also bring up safety concerns, citing research showing that cognitive¹⁰ abilities decline as we age. When recently asked about increasing the mandatory retirement age, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby noted¹¹ that more than a third of his airline's pilots that are 64 years old already cannot fly because of medical reasons. And Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg echoed such concerns recently on Fox News Sunday.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PETE BUTTIGIEG: Look; these retirement ages are there for a reason. And the reason is safety. I'm not going to be on board with anything that could compromise safety.

SCHAPER: Elizabeth Bjerke is an aviation professor and associate dean at the University of North Dakota. She doesn't doubt that some airline pilots would be able to continue flying safely after turning 65. But she says, at best, it's only a short-term fix.

ELIZABETH BJERKE: I do think it might be a distraction¹² to the bigger issue of needing to increase and inspire the next generation of pilots.

SCHAPER: Another proposal aimed at quickly increasing the number of airline pilots is to reduce the 1,500 hours of flight time required for airline pilot certification. But Bjerke and others point out that the U.S. has enjoyed an unprecedented¹³ period of commercial airline safety since that 1,500-hour rule and other safety regulations went into effect a decade ago. And she notes that most aspiring¹⁴ commercial airline pilots earn their flight hours by working as flight instructors¹⁵. So luring¹⁶ them to the airlines prematurely¹⁷ could exacerbate¹⁸ the pilot shortage.

BJERKE: Could we lower that hour requirement and have pilots still be successful at the airlines? Probably. But we need to look at the bigger picture when trying to solve the pilot supply issue, as we need qualified¹⁹ flight instructors to train that one-on-one flight training to be able to produce the future generation of pilots.

SCHAPER: Bjerke and others argue that both reducing flight hours and increasing the pilot retirement age are not long-term solutions to the pilot shortage. But as passenger frustrations²⁰ this summer grow over chronic²¹ flight delays and cancellations, Congress may feel compelled to act on the pilot proposals.

David Schaper, NPR News, Chicago.

1 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

4 licensing   

v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A large part of state regulation consists of occupational licensing. 大部分州的管理涉及行业的特许批准。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• That licensing procedures for projects would move faster. 这样的工程批准程序一定会加快。 来自辞典例句

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 equates   

v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的第三人称单数 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• He equates success with material wealth. 他认为成功等同于物质财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This equates to increased and vigor, better sleep and sharper mental acuity. 也就是说可以起到增强活力，改善睡眠，提高心智的作用。 来自互联网

8 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

9 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

10 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

13 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

14 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

15 instructors   

指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
• He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份，被邀请到主席台上。

16 luring   

吸引，引诱（lure的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Cheese is very good for luring a mouse into a trap. 奶酪是引诱老鼠上钩的极好的东西。
• Her training warned her of peril and of the wrong, subtle, mysterious, luring. 她的教养警告她：有危险，要出错儿，这是微妙、神秘而又诱人的。

17 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

18 exacerbate   

v.恶化，增剧，激怒，使加剧

参考例句：

• WMO says a warming climate can exacerbate air pollution.世界气象组织说，气候变暖可能会加剧空气污染。
• In fact efforts will merely exacerbate the current problem.实际上努力只会加剧当前的问题。

19 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

20 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

21 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。