7 Key Takeaways from the 2024 ERA General Assembly

As attendees of the recent 2024 ERA General Assembly in Seville, Spain, we had the opportunity to gain valuable insights into the pressing challenges facing the aviation industry.

From technological shifts to changing hiring trends, the sector is continuing to evolve. In this article, we highlight seven key takeaways from the 2024 ERA General Assembly and explore how aviation workforce intelligence can help airlines strengthen both recruitment and retention strategies amid these changes.

1. Supply chain issues remain the top concern among ERA members

According to ERA’s member poll, which included 55 airlines and 320 aviation businesses, 33% identified supply chain issues as the top challenge they expect to face over the next 3–5 years, followed closely by skills and labour shortages at 31%.

Post-pandemic production capacity constraints continue to impact aircraft deliveries. Rising production costs, geopolitical tensions, and sanctions remain major contributing factors.

From Q1 2023 to Q1 2024:

• Backlogged aircraft orders rose by 17%

• Aircraft orders increased by 9%

• Deliveries fell by 12%

These figures underline the ongoing operational pressure being placed on airlines across the sector.

2. Skills and labour shortages continue to impact aviation recruitment

Skills and labour shortages remain one of the biggest concerns raised at the 2024 ERA General Assembly.

Since the pandemic, many senior aviation professionals have either retired early or moved into other industries seeking greater stability. At the same time, regional airlines continue to lose experienced crew to larger legacy carriers, creating ongoing recruitment gaps, particularly across engineering and cockpit roles.

Based on our own market intelligence data, smaller and regional operators are among the hardest hit, with attrition rates reaching up to 25% in some areas.

Securing specialised engineering expertise remains a major priority for airlines as these skillsets continue to remain in short supply globally.

3. Work-life balance is now a key decision-making factor

Work-life balance continues to play a major role in candidate decision-making across the aviation industry.

Regardless of salary or benefits packages, many candidates are now more willing to leave an airline in search of better roster patterns and improved lifestyle flexibility.

While regional and low-cost carriers may offer more accessible training pathways, their employment terms often remain less lifestyle-friendly than those offered by larger operators.

As a result:

• Competition for candidates has intensified

• Candidate migration between airlines has increased

• Attrition rates among regional operators continue to rise

4.  Lifestyle-friendly roster patterns can improve retention

One interesting discussion point raised during the ERA General Assembly focused on the relationship between roster design and tax efficiency.

Airlines can improve employee satisfaction and retention by introducing more lifestyle-friendly roster patterns that also support more efficient earnings structures for crew.

For higher earners such as Captains, carefully structured roster patterns can help avoid pushing income unnecessarily into higher tax brackets, creating a more balanced and sustainable working arrangement.

5. Lengthy background checks remain a major challenge

Another key topic discussed at the 2024 ERA General Assembly was the ongoing challenge surrounding lengthy background checks and onboarding delays.

In many cases, aviation professionals are unable to start work quickly due to:

• Delays obtaining required documentation

• Country-specific processing requirements

• Police clearance and criminal record procedures

In some regions, certain documents can only be collected in person, creating additional delays for international candidates.

For airlines, these delays can increase recruitment costs, extend onboarding timelines, and raise the risk of candidates accepting competing offers before clearance is completed.

6. Enhanced training is essential within aircraft maintenance

Aircraft maintenance remains one of the most critical areas within aviation operations.

As new aircraft technologies continue to emerge, engineers require ongoing training to ensure their knowledge and technical capabilities remain aligned with modern systems and processes.

However, labour shortages across engineering continue to make long-term workforce stability difficult to achieve, particularly as the number of qualified candidates remains limited.

7. Pressure to adapt to sustainable technology continues to grow

Sustainability remained a major talking point throughout the 2024 ERA General Assembly.

As airlines work towards more environmentally conscious operations, pressure continues to grow around adopting modern, fuel-efficient technologies and more sustainable operating models.

However, introducing new systems and technologies will require:

• Updated training programmes

• Long-term workforce planning

• Investment in future-focused skillsets

The discussion also highlighted how regional and domestic routes could face increasing pressure as some countries continue exploring alternatives such as high-speed rail.

For aviation recruitment, this could gradually shift demand towards roles linked to:

• Sustainable aviation technologies

• SAF and environmental initiatives

• Infrastructure planning

• Data analytics and optimisation

• Green operations and compliance

In summary

The 2024 ERA General Assembly provided valuable insight into the operational, recruitment, and workforce challenges currently shaping the aviation industry.

From supply chain disruption and labour shortages through to sustainability and evolving candidate expectations, airlines are continuing to reassess how they attract, engage, and retain aviation professionals in an increasingly competitive market.

As the sector evolves, organisations that combine long-term workforce planning with stronger market intelligence will be better positioned to navigate these challenges successfully.

Get in touch for more market intelligence

Our Aviation Workforce Intelligence solutions provide tailored research and analysis, including:

• Talent mapping

• Salary benchmarking

• Competitor analysis

• Workforce and hiring trend insights

Helping airlines and aviation businesses refine their recruitment strategies and make more informed hiring decisions.

Talk to our team today to learn how actionable market intelligence can support your aviation recruitment strategy.