Pilot Shortage Prompts Dramatic Growth of Prescott Airport

AZ – Prescott City Council members acknowledge that the Prescott Regional Airport and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University are critical links in filling the needs of an ongoing worldwide pilot shortage. During recent discussions about updating the Airport Layout Plan, council members expressed their support for the extensive improvements, past, and future, at the airport. Several council members expressed the importance of Prescott’s place in training pilots for the future.

Airport Director Robin Sobotta said that the pilot shortage has had significant impacts on the industry in recent years, and she said that the shortage is expected to continue for the next two decades. As a result of the ongoing pilot shortage, flight training has been on an upward trajectory in recent years, which has led to a dramatic rise in the number of operations at Prescott Regional Airport.

One of the main impacts is in the number of airport operations, which came in at just over 311,000 in 2021. Parker Northrup, the chair of Embry-Riddle’s Flight Department in the College of Aviation, said the university has experienced dramatic increases in flight-student numbers in the past three years, with even more growth anticipated in the coming three to five years.

Currently, Northrup said, Embry-Riddle has just over 800 flight students, which represents more than 100% growth in three years. And with the university’s planned expansion at the Strategic Academic Flight Education project, Northrup said, Embry-Riddle will be able to accommodate even more growth. A major upcoming project involves an extension of the main runway to about 10,000 feet, which is needed, in part, to deal with Prescott’s challenges with high elevations and hot summer temperatures. There continues to be growth at the airport and the council is sending their full support for the development on the airfield.