PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Age Discrimination: Fighting the CAA! (+ update)
Old 19th Feb 2007, 06:33
  #56 (permalink)  
Whirlybird

The Original Whirly
 
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Whether there are or are not jobs for younger pilots is a different issue. Concerning over-60 single pilot ops, the ONLY relevant issue is one of safety. It has never been proved that passing a 60th birthday in and of itself makes a pilot unsafe. Therefore if he/she is able to pass a medical, they should be able to continue flying. The CAA medical bods realise it, and so should everyone else.

This argument about forcing people to retire so that younger people can get jobs crops up frequently in every field of employment, not just aviation. Of course ways of getting younger people jobs would be nice. But you don't do it by kicking out those with most knowledge and experience. "Sorry mate, you've had your job long enough; maybe you want it and your employer wants to keep you, and you're better at it than I am, but I want a job and I want it now, not in ten years time"....sorry, but where's the logic in that? And as someone who became a helicopter pilot rather late in life, I don't want to give up what I've worked for to someone younger...purely on account of age. Why should I? Especially as, like Dennis K, I'm fitter than many people half my age, and plan to stay that way.

60+ pilots need to be able to continue to fly if they want to. New pilots OF ANY AGE need a toe up the ladder. But these are totally SEPARATE issues, so lets not muddy the waters by trying to mix them.
(OK, Dennis, it's a date then )
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