The number of commercial pilot licenses in Canada has taken a drastic decrease, and can be attributed to the struggling aviation industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Transport Canada, between 2012 and 2019, the average number of overall licenses issued was 1,116.
That number took a sharp nosedive in 2020 just as the pandemic took off, with 474 licenses issued. In 2022, that number dropped to 238.
According to the report, another decrease was the amount of female pilot licenses issued. In 2019, there were 467 licenses issued, compared to just 146 in 2021.
The process of becoming a commercial pilot in Canada requires a license as well as a minimum of 200 hours of flight training.
In May of 2020, The Flight School Association of North America found approximately 50 per cent of flight schools were forced to temporarily close due to the pandemic, which resulted in training delays. The school says social distancing also contributed to delays in certification, as students faced difficulties gaining hours of in-person training.
The instability in the aviation industry also played a role in the decline of passengers. According to a report by the International Civil Aviation Organization based out of Montreal, there was an overall reduction of 2.201 million passengers with a gross passenger loss of 324 billion dollar loss.
