The Government Accountability Office is pressing the FAA to publicly commit to timelines for two pilot training initiatives mandated by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 — and so far, the agency has not done so. In a report released on April 30, 2026, GAO found that while the FAA has been doing internal work on both programs, neither has produced the public-facing deliverables Congress directed. The two initiatives — an Enhanced Qualification Program (EQP) for pilots pursuing restricted-privilege Airline Transport Pilot certificates and a new national office for overseeing designated pilot examiners (DPEs) — are designed to strengthen the pilot pipeline and improve the consistency of flight testing nationwide. The Department of Transportation has concurred with GAO’s recommendations.
The EQP is one of the more consequential pilot training reforms in the Reauthorization Act. Codified under Section 372, it would allow Part 121 air carriers to provide structured, FAA-certified training to eligible pilots seeking a restricted-privileges ATP certificate — essentially creating an airline-led bridge program between commercial pilot training and the airline cockpit. Under the current system, pilots who qualify for a restricted ATP (R-ATP) — typically graduates of approved Part 141 aviation degree programs or military pilots — can serve as first officers with fewer than the standard 1,500 hours. The EQP would formalize and expand that bridge with a standardized curriculum covering airline operations, crew resource management, aircraft automation, standard operating procedures, checklist discipline, and simulator-based training. Airlines could deliver this training directly or through contracted Part 141 or Part 142 training providers. GAO’s concern is that the FAA has not yet published the EQP requirements, despite the program’s potential to help address pilot supply challenges, particularly at regional carriers.
The second initiative involves the creation of a national office dedicated to overseeing designated pilot examiners. DPEs are the senior pilots authorized by the FAA to administer practical tests — checkrides — for pilot certificates and ratings. They serve a critical gatekeeping role in the certification system, but oversight has historically been managed at the regional or district level, leading to inconsistencies in standards and availability. The Reauthorization Act directed the FAA to establish centralized coordination through a new national DPE office and to begin reporting to Congress on examiner activity, distribution, and oversight. According to GAO, the FAA has made progress internally on standing up this office but has not yet delivered the first required report to Congress. Improving DPE oversight matters not only for standardization but also for addressing well-known scheduling bottlenecks — in many parts of the country, student pilots and CFIs face weeks-long waits to book a checkride, slowing down the entire training pipeline.
GAO’s recommendations land against a backdrop of ongoing — if somewhat improved — concern about the long-term pilot supply. The report notes that FAA pilot certifications grew roughly 10 percent between 2017 and 2024, and post-pandemic hiring waves have helped airlines fill many open positions. However, the supply picture is not uniformly positive. GAO cited one airline that pulled regional service from 29 airports in 2022, many serving small communities, in large part because of staffing constraints. And while the immediate post-pandemic hiring surge has eased, retirements continue to put pressure on the supply pipeline. Roughly 14,000 airline pilots are expected to age out under the mandatory retirement age of 65 over the next several years, creating persistent replacement demand even if air travel growth moderates. Programs like the EQP are specifically designed to help fill this gap at the entry level — but only if they are actually implemented and made available to carriers and training providers.
For flight schools, CFIs, and aspiring airline pilots, these two initiatives represent meaningful but still-unrealized infrastructure. The EQP could create new training partnerships between airlines, Part 141 flight schools, and Part 142 training centers, potentially expanding demand for structured training programs and offering student pilots a more clearly defined pathway into the regional airline cockpit. Meanwhile, a well-functioning national DPE office could reduce checkride bottlenecks, improve consistency in practical test standards, and give flight schools better visibility into examiner availability. The GAO report is a reminder that even when Congress directs action, implementation timelines can slip — and that public transparency about those timelines matters for the thousands of pilots, instructors, and training organizations whose livelihoods depend on a functioning certification system. The FAA has acknowledged the recommendations, but the clock is ticking.
