FAA Mandates Airlines to Affirm Merit Hiring for Pilots

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is issuing a new mandatory rule that requires all commercial airlines in the country to formally commit to merit-based hiring for pilots, according to a Feb. 13 statement from the Department of Transportation (DOT).

Under the new mandate, all U.S. carriers must certify that the practice of airlines hiring based on race and sex has ended, or face a federal investigation.

“When families board their aircraft, they should fly with confidence knowing the pilot behind the controls is the best of the best,” DOT Secretary Sean P. Duffy said. “The American people don’t care what their pilot looks like or their gender—they just care that they are [the] most qualified man or woman for the job.”

DOT stated that even though the FAA has raised performance standards while eliminating positions based on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the agency and terminating related contracts, “allegations of airlines hiring based on race and sex remain.”

The action follows President Donald Trump’s executive order on Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity and his presidential memorandum Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation, both issued on Jan. 21, 2025.

In the order, Trump wrote that critical institutions in the country, including large commercial airlines, have adopted “dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences” under DEI policies that can violate the country’s civil rights laws.

The memorandum ordered Duffy and the FAA to end all DEI initiatives at the agency.

Just more than a week after the executive order, Trump blamed DEI hiring practices at the FAA, followed by the previous administration, for a midair crash that occurred on Jan. 29, 2025, killing 67 people. This was the deadliest plane crash in the United States since November 2001.

In its statement, the DOT stated that the FAA is authorized to prescribe minimum safety standards for airline operations. The operational safety of air carriers is “fundamentally dependent” on the proficiency and knowledge of their crew members.

The DOT stated that federal regulations establish stringent training and qualification standards for flight crew members. The effectiveness of these training programs improves when pilot applicants have the required cognitive skills, qualifications, and technical knowledge, it stated.

“It is a bare minimum expectation for airlines to hire the most qualified individual when making someone responsible for hundreds of lives at a time,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said. “Someone’s race, sex, or creed, has nothing to do with their ability to fly and land aircraft safely.”

In December 2024, a month before the new Trump administration took office, America First Legal stated that Southwest Airlines and American Airlines had committed to dropping their DEI policies after the nonprofit filed complaints against the companies.