EasyJet sets out to hire 1,000 pilots over the next 5 years

British multinational airline easyJet said they want to recruit 1,000 pilots to recover from the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The company recently launched a recruitment ad campaign for their pilot training scheme and are focusing on addressing the imbalance in the aviation sector by encouraging more women to become pilots. 

The budget carrier cut around 4,500 jobs (30% of employees across Europe) in May 2020 after passenger numbers fell drastically in the early stages of the pandemic. 

EasyJet’s CEO, Johan Lundgren commented on the company’s launch of the program: "We are delighted to be reopening our pilot training programme again for the first time since the pandemic hit and will see us recruit over 1000 new pilots in the coming years. 

“easyJet has long championed greater diversity in the flight deck and this series of ads aims to highlight the extraordinary breadth of skills our pilots have and show that pilots can be found in all walks of life, in a bid to attract more diverse candidates.”

Last year, the International Society of Women Airline Pilots found that only 4.7 of commercial airline pilots in the UK were women. They believed that these statistics showed gender inequality in the airline industry.

Johan Lundgren stated that easyJet would “continue to focus on challenging gendered stereotypes” and highlighted how the company has doubled the number of female pilots in recent years. 

A captain at easyJet, Iris De Kan, commented in a press release: “It’s important that girls have visible role models so we can combat job stereotypes and show that anyone with the motivation and passion can turn their skills to being an airline pilot.”

EasyJet’s competitor, Ryanair, announced that they missed their target for passenger numbers. In October 2021, the airline carried 11.3 million passengers while in December, that number fell to 9.5 million. 

As a result, the airline suffered a £79.9 million net loss. Ryanair commented: “While recent bookings have improved, following easing of travel restrictions, the booking curve remains very late and close-in, so Q4 traffic requires significant price stimulation at lower prices to quickly recover load factors which suffered steep declines due to the Omicron collapse in bookings over the Christmas/New Year period.”

In light of these events, the government is taking action to give airline customers more rights and are considering proposals for improved compensation for delayed flights. 

Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, said: “People deserve a service that puts passengers first when things go wrong, so today I’ve launched proposals that aim to bolster airline consumer protections and rights.

“We’re making the most of our Brexit dividend with our new freedoms outside of the EU and this review will help build a trustworthy, reputable sector.”