{"id":26024,"date":"2020-06-05T14:12:52","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T14:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/06\/05\/some-pilots-delay-retirements-but-coronavirus-effect-on-shortfall-remains-unknown\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:46:09","slug":"some-pilots-delay-retirements-but-coronavirus-effect-on-shortfall-remains-unknown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2020\/06\/05\/some-pilots-delay-retirements-but-coronavirus-effect-on-shortfall-remains-unknown\/","title":{"rendered":"Some pilots delay retirements, but coronavirus\u2019 effect on shortfall remains unknown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Since March, the Air Force has given 171 pilots permission to stay in uniform past the date when they were originally scheduled to retire or separate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Air Force spokeswoman Lt. Col. Malinda Singleton said in an email that it\u2019s still too early to tell how the coronavirus, and the accompanying collapse in the commercial travel industry, will affect the service\u2019s persistent pilot shortfall. Stars and Stripes first reported<\/a> how many pilots had asked to stay longer in recent months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force has struggled for years to fill a shortfall of roughly 2,100 pilots<\/a> \u2014 about 10 percent of its overall pilot force \u2014 despite a series of efforts including offering expanded bonuses<\/a>, increased training<\/a> and increased assignment flexibility. A major factor challenging the Air Force is competition from commercial airlines, which are trying to replace a retiring generation of Vietnam-era pilots and can offer much greater salaries than the military can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that gap \u2014 which former Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson in 2017 warned could \u201cbreak the force\u201d \u2014 has remain virtually unchanged over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\t