(Ottawa) The Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force reported progress in his long-standing efforts to recruit and retain more pilots.
The Air Force is said to have around 1,500 pilots. There were around 225 missing at the end of December 2019.
The lieutenant general noted that the military has deployed a number of initiatives over the past two years to address the issue.
Among them were a salary increase and a reorganization that reduced the number of pilots needed.
The lieutenant-general, however, recalled that the slowdown in hiring by commercial airlines during the pandemic may have played a role in the good fortune of the Canadian forces. He said he feared the Air Force’s gains would turn out to be only temporary if airlines started hiring again.