FAA Orders Merit-Based Pilot Hiring as Trump DEI Crackdown Continues

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Feb. 13 that all U.S. airlines must certify they are conducting merit-based hiring for pilots or face a federal investigation.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the action was to address “allegations of airlines hiring based on race and sex,” and added under the directive “all U.S. carriers will be required to certify this practice is terminated.”

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There is no evidence that any U.S. airline is employing unqualified pilots. The FAA notice Friday said airlines must “ensure pilot hiring is exclusively merit-based to fulfill its duty to provide the highest possible degree of safety.”

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U.S. airline pilots have historically been overwhelmingly white and male.

United, which in 2021 set a goal to train 5,000 new pilots by 2030 with at least half being women or people of color, said at the time that only about 7% of its roughly 12,000 pilots were women and 13% were people of color. The airline declined to comment on Friday.

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