Originally Posted by
rickair7777
Careful. Objectively that's not exactly what the WP says.
It could be interpreted to be "raise the age now" and study it as we go to make sure it stays safe.
I suspect it was deliberately crafted to be vague, looks like the emphasis is on supporting member states who may be reluctant to make their own decision. But if certain entities are pushing this, it doesn't matter what other member states do, as long as THEY can raise their own age (or already have), and the ICAO age goes up, they can still get whatever benefit they're looking for. They don't really care whether Lichtenstein and Namibia raise their age or not.
I speak fluent bureaucrat, from years in mil HHQs. At that level nothing is accidental. Kind of like Retroactivity vs. Non-Retroactivity.
Also this is interesting:
2.2.6
The two leading concerns for future risk of medical-cause fatal accidents are mental health conditions and problematic substance use (e.g., alcohol and other drugs). These potential causes of aviation related fatalities tend to present in a younger demographic.
In 2006 ICAO implemented Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) to raise the age limit from 60 to 65 for pilots undertaking multi-pilot international commercial air transport (CAT) operations. Building on the work already done by ICAO through the Medical Provisions Study Group over the past 19 years in considering further extensions of age limits, this paper proposes that ICAO now raise the age to 67 years. This change should follow a similar approach to that which was successfully applied in 2006, and be implemented within a framework of additional safety assurance measures.
Action:The Assembly is invited to:
a) support the extension of the upper age limit for pilots engaged in multi-pilot international commercial air transport (CAT) to 67 years, provided another pilot is under age 65;
b) request that ICAO establish standardized medical risk assessment and oversight systems informed by a standard set of pilot medical data to reliably assess the medical risks associated with pilot age; and
c) request that States collaborate with industry and representative bodies across medical, licensing, and operational domains on developing guidance materials to support implementation of the increased age for pilots in international commercial air transport (CAT) operations.
ACTION A: Calls on ICAO to raise the upper age limit for international multi-pilot CAT operations from 65 to 67 now.
ACTIONS B and C: Function as future-proofing, by creating standardized medical oversight systems and implementation guidance, they lay the groundwork for potentially reconsidering or even removing the upper limit later.
This framing aligns with ICAO’s handling of IATA’s request for survey data: among the 193 member states, some are deemed “capable” of managing pilots above a restrictive age limit (67) through strong oversight systems, while many others are not.
Actions B and C move toward the long-term goal of enabling those incapable states to safely expand beyond a restrictive limit.