The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today.
The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則).
The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
The ministry said the minimum age for commercial pilot and multi-crew pilot certification would be lowered from 20 to 18, while the minimum age for airline transport pilot certification would be reduced from 23 to 21.
In addition, the upper age limit for pilots jointly operating an aircraft would be raised to 65 to give airlines greater flexibility in pilot assignments, the ministry said.
Current regulations stipulate that international airline pilots cannot be older than 65, and those older than 60 must pass a medical exam every four months, the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said, adding that these regulations align with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Some of Taiwan’s regulations are stricter, as the ICAO allows all pilots jointly operating international flights to be more than 60 years old, while Taiwan only allows one pilot over the age of 60 on international routes, the CAA said.
The ICAO requires commercial and multi-crew pilots to be at least 18 years old, and airline transport pilots to be at least 21.
After reviewing many countries’ regulations, it decided to amend Taiwan’s laws to align with ICAO standards, the CAA said.
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