ATP AMEL Certificate Production Year to Date in 2025

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The airline industry has seen reduced hiring in 2025, which has also led to a reduction in the production of ATP certifications. The largest numbers of ATP certifications typically happen concurrently with initial airline training, through the ATP-CTP course, and then the ATP certification that occurs with an initial type rating, most frequently at regional airlines.

Many regional airlines have reduced or fully stopped “new hire classes” in 2025, and we can see the effect of this in the current ATP certification trends year-to-date.

The table here shows a comparison of ATP certificate issuance month-by-month, looking back to 2022 when we saw some of the highest rates of hiring and certification coming out of the COVID pause.

When we compare the half-year point in 2025 to 2024, we see a nearly 25% drop in year-to-date ATP AMEL certifications this year comparatively.

When hiring does again ramp up, we will see those numbers likely correlate with increases of ATP certification as larger, Major airlines, hire pilots from the regional airlines and then the regional airlines are required to back fill those vacated positions with new hire classes again, resulting in new pilots being pushed through larger classes of initial ATP certification processes than we are currently seeing in 2025.

The graph below shows a visible trend of ATP AMEL production in 2022, 2023,  and 2024, potentially showing a maximum production level. We can see that we have a differential from previous production in 2025 with a much lower trend line (the red one) that shows the gap in production so far this year.

New book, An Aviator’s Field Guide to the Pilot Career Path Released, Offers Content to Help Guide Navigating Training to be a Career Pilot

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Using ChatGPT to Look Up FAA Knowledge Test Codes

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Potential Unintended Consequences of Reducing ATP Minimum Hours: Impacts on Flight Training and Pilot Quality

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The aviation industry has long debated the minimum flight hours required for pilots to obtain an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate, a prerequisite for serving as a pilot in command at major airlines. Currently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandates 1,500 hours of total flight time for most pilots seeking an ATP certificate, although certain exemptions (e.g., for military pilots or graduates of approved aviation programs) allow for reduced minimums; a Restricted-ATP. 

There are currently advocates pushing to lower these requirements, arguing that use of technological advancements, structured training programs, and simulator-based instruction can adequately prepare pilots with fewer hours. While there is some truth in that, and leveraging new systems and technology is always worthy of consideration, reducing ATP minimum hours could have significant unintended ripple effects. This is especially true with relation to flight instructors, flight training providers, and the overall quality of pilots entering the airline industry. 

Such a reduction could shorten the tenure of flight instructors, increase training staff turnover at flight schools, and potentially diminish the quality of training for future pilots, ultimately affecting the competency of professional pilots over time. Continue reading →