Young Portuguese Air Force pilots are grounded because there is no money to get them in the air. Some haven’t flown for over two years – and others say they will stay on the ground throughout their training.
Even worse, aviators are being forced to pay out of their own pockets for private flying lessons so they do not to lose their wings altogether.
The situation has been highlighted in Público newspaper. In an article entitled “Air Force pilots complain they have not flown for more than two years”, a group of flyers – all talking off the record for fear of disciplinary procedures – explained that they could not even leave the service in order to find flying jobs elsewhere as ‘fines’ would see them faced with bills of over €40,000 each.
The news comes hot-on-the-heels of a warning by Air Force boss José Pinheiro in December last year that the service was “at breaking point” because military pilots were being wooed by commercial airlines “where salaries are more attractive”.
“Financial constraints”, however, have meant that incoming youngsters are not getting sufficient flying practice to fill the gaps.
A spokesman for the Air Force explained: “The financial and budgetary constraints of the country have created a reduction in flying hours, with significant impact on the instruction and training of new pilots.”
As one of the young men pointed out, “the Portuguese Air Force spent a fortune on my training and removed the job I was contracted to do more than two years ago. I still have a further two years of the contract to run, and I will not fly at all until the end of it, for certain. I am now performing an administrative job.”
It is a frustrating Catch-22 which has led pilots to seek legal advice.
Commenting to Lusa news agency, a spokesperson for the Air Force admitted the service did not have “the capacity to allow it to qualify all the younger pilots, who naturally would substitute those who have finished their contracts with the Air Force”.
