Nearly 900 experienced pilots have left the Air Force over the past 10 years. Most found new jobs at higher-paying commercial airlines, and compensation is cited as the biggest reason. Observers say that as the outflow of pilots worsens, active-duty pilots will shoulder more missions, risking a vicious cycle.
According to data the Air Force submitted on the 3rd to the People Power Party lawmaker Kang Dae-sik's office on the National Defense Committee, a total of 896 experienced pilots voluntarily chose to leave service from 2017 through March this year. Experienced pilots are those in years 8 to 17 who can conduct operations independently and instruct lower-grade pilots in flight training, serving as key personnel.
By type, fighter pilots accounted for the most at 730, followed by 148 on transport aircraft and 18 on rotary-wing aircraft. The outflow of experienced Air Force pilots slightly exceeded 100 each year, then plunged to seven in 2021, right after the COVID-19 crisis. But it has since turned upward again. As of March this year alone, 47 pilots left the Air Force.
They went mainly to Korean Air Lines, 622 pilots (69.4%), Asiana Airlines, 147 (16.4%), and low-cost carriers (LCCs), 103 (11.5%).
The loss of pilots is a national-level setback. More than 1 billion won per person is invested to train an experienced pilot. The expense to train experienced pilots (flight education and flight training) is 6.17 billion won for the F-35A fighter, 2.67 billion won for the F-15K fighter, 1.84 billion won for the (K)F-16 fighter, 1.63 billion won for the FA-50 light attack aircraft, and 1.21 billion won for the C-130J transport aircraft.
Including expenses to maintain readiness, such as aircraft operations and maintenance, the per-person cost to train a pilot can rise to hundreds of billions of won.
In response, the Air Force operates a mandatory service period system. For fixed-wing (fighter and transport) pilots from the Air Force Academy, the mandatory service period is 15 years, and for non-Academy graduates it is 10 years (13 years for those commissioned since 2015). The average service period for experienced pilots who left the military was 15.2 years for Academy graduates and 10.6 years for non-Academy graduates. In effect, they left as soon as they met their mandatory service period.
If the outflow of pilots accelerates, remaining active-duty pilots will face heavier mission loads, which could trigger further departures. In a survey the Air Force conducted last year of its pilots, the pay gap with commercial airline pilots, stress from continued high-difficulty and high-risk missions and standby for emergencies, and family issues caused by frequent reassignments were cited as reasons for leaving.
An Air Force official said, "The current pilot fill rate remains above 90%, so there is no issue maintaining readiness," adding, "Last year we raised incentives for extended service and are reestablishing and implementing measures to prevent the outflow of experienced pilots, and we continue efforts to improve pilot service conditions and treatment."