BALPA welcomes the Government’s Generation Aviation initiative, aimed at encouraging the next generation into aviation and eliminating barriers to entering it. Diversity is key but can only be obtained if the ability to train as a pilot is not based merely on those that can afford it.

This is why BALPA has long campaigned to make the Pilot profession more accessible. With initial training costs often over £120,000 and no formal funding mechanisms available (unlike other professions such as law or medicine), there is a huge barrier for candidates with the right aptitude, severely limiting diversity. It is time to level up access to pilot training.

We look forward to working with this new Government to ensure that the full cost of Pilot training becomes eligible for student loans, breaking the unnecessary barriers to entry and supporting the industry’s future.