SEATTLE, Washington: Global airlines are pushing to keep pilots in cockpits longer, asking the United Nations' aviation body to raise the mandatory international retirement age for commercial pilots to 67 from 65. The proposal comes as airlines worldwide grapple with a shortage of aviators amid surging demand for air travel.

The U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will debate the change at its General Assembly beginning September 23. Current international rules bar pilots over 65 from operating international flights, and many countries — including the United States — apply the same domestic limit.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents roughly 350 airlines, said the two-year extension would be a "cautious but reasonable step consistent with safety." Under the proposal, each flight would still require at least two pilots, one under the age of 65 if the other is older. ICAO last raised the limit from 60 to 65 in 2006.

Pilot unions, especially in the United States, are strongly opposed. They argue that extending the age limit could compromise safety without enough supporting data. "We don't gamble with safety that way," said Dennis Tajer, spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association and a captain at American Airlines.

The Air Line Pilots Association and the Southwest Airlines Pilot Association did not immediately comment. Both groups opposed a similar 2023 campaign, backed by U.S. carriers, to persuade Congress to raise the domestic retirement age. That effort failed despite airlines citing the same supply pressures that are now driving the international proposal.

Still, political support for a change is growing. Last month, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress urged President Donald Trump's administration to back ICAO's move, reflecting broader concerns about pilot shortages hampering airline growth.