Air Traffic By the Numbers
FAA Air Traffic Organization
•
System Operations Services 5
PilotCertificates
The table below shows the number of pilot certificates held by age group (upper panel below) and by year (lower panel). The
upper panel illustrates that student, commercial, and remote (or drone) pilots tend to be younger, while airline transport
pilots tend to be older. The lower panel informs us that the number of total active pilot certificates held in the U.S. increased
by 6.6 percent, from 756,927 in CY2022 to 806,939 in CY2023, mainly due to an increase in student pilot certificates from
280,582 to 316,470. Further, the number of remote pilot certifications (which began in August 2016) increased by 21.2
percent, from 304,256 in 2021 to 368,633 in 2023. (Note, the pilot total does not include flight instructors and remote pilots.)
Estimated Active Pilot Certificates Held by Category and Age Group of Holder,
as of December 31, 2023
Type of Pilot Certificates
Certified
Flight
Instructor
2/
Remote
Pilot 2/
By Age
Group
Total Student Sport
Recre-
ational
Private
1/
Commercial
1/
Airline
Transport
1/
Total 806,939 316,470 7,144 72 180,233 122,282 180,738 131,577 368,633
14-15 820 820 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16-19 34,049 25,915 8 2 7,513 611 0 214 6,146
20-24 88,348 47,689 55 1 22,074 16,584 1,945 10,061 22,527
25-29 100,033 55,336 139 1 15,906 19,045 9,606 15,292 45,026
30-34 91,183 50,706 237 5 13,967 12,937 13,331 13,488 52,460
35-39 81,434 38,204 316 2 14,049 10,836 18,027 14,228 52,022
40-44 71,879 28,240 372 1 13,297 8,964 21,005 13,927 45,357
45-49 57,904 19,275 396 4 11,084 6,835 20,310 11,521 36,328
50-54 58,429 15,208 486 5 12,666 7,203 22,861 11,565 32,762
55-59 58,875 12,030 777 4 13,920 7,360 24,784 10,642 26,214
60-64 57,140 9,657 964 11 16,229 7,768 22,511 9,520 21,238
65-69 44,130 6,535 1,133 12 16,347 7,636 12,467 8,123 14,887
70-74 29,963 3,820 999 11 12,077 6,563 6,493 5,983 8,447
75-79 19,618 2,016 717 9 7,005 5,497 4,374 4,386 3,814
80 & over 13,134 1,019 545 4 4,099 4,443 3,024 2,627 1,405
By Year
2015
590,038 122,729 5,482 191 186,786 116,291 158,559 102,628 N/Ap
2016
584,361 128,501 5,889 178 174,517 112,056 163,220 104,382 20,362
2017
609,306 149,121 6,097 157 174,516 114,186 165,228 106,692 69,166
2018
633,316 167,804 6,246 147 175,771 115,776 167,572 108,564 106,321
2019
664,563 197,665 6,467 130 173,080 116,572 170,649 113,445 160,302
2020 691,689 222,629 6,643 107 172,945 119,245 170,120 117,558 206,322
2021 720,603 250,197 6,801 86 173,606 119,827 170,086 121,270 254,587
2022 756,927 280,582 6,957 80 176,328 119,832 173,148 125,075 304,256
2023
806,939 316,470 7,144 72 180,233 122,282 180,738 131,577 368,633
1/ Includes pilots with an airplane and/or a helicopter and/or a glider and/or a gyroplane certificate. Pilots with multiple
ratings are reported under highest rating. For example a pilot with a private helicopter and commercial airplane certificates
are reported in the commercial category.
2/ Not included in total active pilots.
N/Ap Not applicable.
Source: Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aviation Policy and Plans (APO), U.S. Civil Airmen Statistics, 2023, Table 12, March
12, 2024. https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/