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Pilot retirement gifts

For a pilot in commercial air transport, the end of a career is set partly by rule: a limit at 60 and another at 65. Here is what the rule says, and what to give when the last flight comes.

A plain navy cap on a blank navy logbook with folded sunglasses on a desk, an airfield out of focus through the window.
AI-made illustration.

The UK rules on pilot licences are Commission Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 as it applies here, published on legislation.gov.uk. One rule in its Part-FCL, FCL.065, sets the age limit for commercial air transport. This page reads it as written, then turns to what to give.

What age do pilots have to stop flying commercially?

FCL.065 has two limbs. From the age of 60: "The holder of a pilot licence who has attained the age of 60 years shall not act as a pilot of an aircraft engaged in commercial air transport except as a member of a multi-pilot crew." From the age of 65: "Holders of a pilot licence who has attained the age of 65 years shall not act as a pilot of an aircraft that is engaged in commercial air transport."

Both limits are written for commercial air transport. We read no other limit in that rule, so this page doesn't say what applies to flying that isn't commercial air transport.

Does the medical change at 60?

Part-MED, in Annex IV of the same regulation, sets how long a medical certificate lasts. At MED.A.045(a) a Class 1 certificate is valid for 12 months, but for six months for licence holders who have reached the age of 60. So from 60 a Class 1 certificate lasts half as long as the basic 12 months.

Why 65?

The regulation states the age and gives no reason for it. We haven't found a reason in a source we could read, so we don't offer one.

What to give somebody who is stepping down

This shop prints. It doesn't engrave, and it doesn't make plaques or shadow boxes. What a print can hold is a place or an aircraft, and both are facts about that one pilot.

  • The field. If you know where the last flight landed, or where the pilot was based, that code is the airport code print: the letters large, the airport's name and country beneath, and its position. There is no photograph to find and no name field, so the print carries the place and nothing else. The lookup turns a place name into its code.
  • The aircraft. A photograph from the flight deck, the apron or a club day can be printed as it was taken. Each size is checked against the file before you pay, and a size the photograph can't carry isn't offered. The aircraft print is the route when the photograph is small or soft.
  • More than one field. Each airport code print carries one code, so a pilot who flew from three fields is three prints, ordered one at a time.

If you're unsure which to choose, gifts for pilots sets out the questions to ask. Whoever you're buying for, aviation gifts covers every recipient.

Written by Craig Fearn, The Aviation Gift Co. Last updated .

Questions, answered

At what age do most pilots typically retire?
We can't source a typical age. What we can source is the rule: FCL.065 in the UK's version of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 says a licence holder aged 60 may act as a pilot in commercial air transport only as a member of a multi-pilot crew, and one aged 65 may not act as a pilot in commercial air transport.
Why must pilots retire at 65?
The rule that sets it, FCL.065(b), says holders of a pilot licence who have attained the age of 65 years shall not act as a pilot of an aircraft engaged in commercial air transport. The text gives no reason for the age, and we haven't found one in a source we could read.
What do pilots get for retirement?
We found no source for what pilots are usually given, so we don't claim one. What this shop can print is the airport they flew from, as an airport code print, or a photograph of their aircraft, printed as it was taken.
What is a personal gift for a pilot?
One that only fits them: the code of the field they last landed at, or a photograph of the aircraft they flew. Gifts for pilots goes through the options.
How often does a pilot over 60 need a medical?
A Class 1 medical certificate is valid for six months once the holder has reached 60, against 12 months in the basic rule. (MED.A.045(a) also gives six months from 40 for single-pilot commercial air transport carrying passengers.) That is in Part-MED, in Annex IV of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 as it applies in the UK.