SPECIAL FEATURE
COVID-19: Aviation Students’ Perspectives w r i t t e n B y: K y l e U s i a k
W
hile many in the airline industry have undoubtedly been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, often forgotten are the teenagers and young adults just beginning their journey in aviation. In the summer of 2017, I began my flight training at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. Professors called our graduation era the pilot’s ‘golden age’ of hiring. Estimates ranging from 500,000-600,000 new pilots needed in the next two decades rang loudly in classes as small as private pilot ground school.
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