The aviation industry is in desperate need of people. There is a significant shortage of those who can fly planes and those who can repair them. The talent gap has reached 478,000. There is a shortage of 155,000 technicians, 124,000 pilots, and 199,000 cabin crew members. With the rapid development of the civil aviation industry, the talent shortage is becoming increasingly prominent.
According to Airbus’ global aviation service market forecast, in China alone, there will be a professional talent gap of 478,000 in the next 20 years, including 155,000 technicians, 124,000 pilots, and 199,000 cabin crew members. This number is two to three times higher than that in 2024. Take the cabin crew members with the largest gap as an example. In 2024, there are 97,000 practitioners in the entire industry, and by 2043, the demand will expand to 226,000 people, with a gap as high as 199,000. The talent gap is already foreseeable, but the talent supply has not caught up immediately, and the mismatch phenomenon is still very prominent. Employers have many vacant positions waiting to be filled. “In particular, many airlines lack highly skilled technical workers,” said Liu Keqiang, head of flight operations and training at Airbus and general manager of Hua Ou Aviation Training Co., Ltd.
In terms of remuneration, the overall situation in the civil aviation industry is still optimistic. By reviewing the financial reports of seven A-share listed airlines, it is found that the employee compensation of airlines is not low, and most of the per capita costs are above 200,000 yuan per year.
China’s civil aviation industry is running rapidly. All kinds of talents, from cabin crew, engineers to pilots, are very scarce.
## I. Shortage of People, Always Shortage of People
1. **In 2024, China’s civil aviation passenger traffic volume hit a historical high**: The latest data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China shows that from January 1 to December 15, 2024, Chinese airlines completed more than 700 million passenger trips. This data increased by 18.1% year-on-year and by 10.7% compared to 2019, setting a new record. The growth is so fast that the talent shortage is becoming increasingly prominent.
2. **The most severely lacking are cabin crew members**: According to Airbus’ forecast, among the total gap of 478,000 people, 199,000 are cabin crew members, accounting for as high as 42%. According to the “2023 Statistical Bulletin on the Development of the Civil Aviation Industry”, as of the end of 2023, there were a total of 86,520 flight attendants in Chinese transportation airlines, an increase of 1,827 compared to the previous year. Affected by the epidemic, the number of flight attendants has decreased significantly in recent years. At the end of 2019, there were a total of 108,955 flight attendants. Since then, it has dropped below 100,000 and 90,000 in succession. In 2023, it began to stop falling and rise. At the same time, there are more and more airplanes. From 2015 to 2021, the number of registered transport aircraft in China increased from 2,650 to 4,054, with an average annual compound growth rate of 7.34%. In 2023, the number of civil aviation passenger aircraft in China is 4,013. There will be more airplanes in the future. According to Airbus’ global market forecast, by 2043, China’s in-service fleet will reach 11,160 aircraft, an increase of more than 9,000 aircraft.
3. **The shortage of maintenance talents is prominent**: The gap reaches 155,000 people, accounting for 32% of the total talent gap. According to the “2023 Statistical Bulletin on the Development of the Civil Aviation Industry”, there were 4,270 registered transport aircraft in the civil aviation industry at the end of the period, and there were 77,021 licensed aircraft maintenance personnel in the entire industry. Based on a rough calculation, the aircraft-to-personnel ratio is approximately 18.04. From 20
