US airlines must certify use of merit-based hiring for pilots, FAA says

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday that all U.S. airlines must certify they are conducting merit-based hiring for pilots or face a federal investigation.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the action was to address "allegations of airlines hiring based on race and sex," and added under the directive "all U.S. carriers will be required to certify this practice is terminated."

Shortly after taking office in January 2025, President Donald Trump issued sweeping executive orders to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the United States and pressured the private sector to join the initiative.

There is no evidence that any U.S. airline is employing unqualified pilots. The FAA notice Friday said airlines must "ensure pilot hiring is exclusively merit-based to fulfill its duty to provide the highest possible degree of safety."

Airlines for America, which represents major passenger airlines including American Airlines AAL.O, United Airlines UAL.O, Delta Air Lines DAL.N and Southwest Airlines LUV.N said "safety is, and always will be, the top priority for U.S. airlines." The group said its "carriers comply with all federal regulations and laws, including those related to qualifications, training and licensing."

U.S. airline pilots have historically been overwhelmingly white and male.

United, which in 2021 set a goal to train 5,000 new pilots by 2030 with at least half being women or people of color, said at the time that only about 7% of its roughly 12,000 pilots were women and 13% were people of color. The airline declined to comment on Friday.

Three weeks into the Trump administration, the FAA reversed a four-year-old decision to rename safety messages to pilots and reinstating the prior "Notice to Airmen" term.

In December 2021, the FAA under former President Joe Biden renamed the messages "Notices to Air Missions," commonly known as NOTAMs, saying it was "inclusive of all aviators and missions."