Worldwide shortage in pilots; KLM poaching from competitors: report

There is a worldwide shortage in pilots. Boeing estimates that 790 thousand pilots will be needed in the next 20 years. KLM is poaching pilots from competitors TUI and Corendon, sources from within KLM told the Telegraaf.

"It is a fact that there is more demand for pilots than supply in the market at the moment", a TUI spokesperson said to the newspaper. According to him, TUI pilots that are quitting are mainly pilots of planes used for international destinations.

Corendon also said that their pilots are being hired away by KLM, according to the newspaper.

The labor market for pilots reversed itself very quickly. A few years ago there was a surplus of pilots, to the extent that some could not find work. Boeing called the current and increasing demand for pilots "unprecedented", according to the Telegraaf.