Aviation Recruitment Market: 2025 Insights and 2026 Outlook

Following the success of our Mission Critical Market Insights, we’re continuing our sector deep-dives with a closer look at one of V7 Recruitment’s longest-standing specialisms, Aviation.

This time, we sat down with Alex Waterhouse, our Divisional Director specialising in Aviation, to explore the state of the aviation market in 2025, the major hiring trends shaping the sector, and what he expects from aviation recruitment as we move into 2026.

Here’s what he had to say…

State of the Market in 2025

“The Aviation Market in 2025 has been absolutely crazy. It still feels like we’re working through a huge backlog from Covid. When the sector shut down, planes weren’t flying, maintenance operations paused, and aircraft sat in storage far longer than intended. That disruption created a knock-on effect across the entire maintenance cycle, with checks deferred and resources stretched thin once operations restarted.

We’re now seeing a surge in aircraft coming out of storage at the same time that delayed checks are finally being carried out. The volume of work is enormous, and that’s driven a very intense year across Europe. Maintenance facilities are operating at full capacity, lead times have increased, and operators are having to plan further ahead than ever just to secure slots.”

Key Hiring Trends in 2025

“In previous years, the market was job-led, for each position we’d have three or four strong candidates. Employers could be selective, and hiring timelines were far less pressured.

Now it’s completely flipped. For every one candidate, there are two or three jobs. Skilled engineers are in extremely high demand, and companies are having to move faster, be more flexible, and offer more competitive packages to secure talent.

We’ve also seen rates increase significantly, particularly across wide-body aircraft maintenance, where pay rises of around 25–30% have become the norm. These increases reflect not only the shortage of experienced personnel, but also the intensity of workloads and the critical nature of keeping wide-body fleets operational.”

Shifts In Hiring Activity

“We’ve made big improvements to the contractor experience, increasing the number of touch points so individuals speak to multiple people across V7 rather than just one contact. This has helped improve communication, provide better support, and ensure issues are resolved more quickly throughout an assignment.

Cost control has also been a major focus this year. With rising living costs and the fact that aviation recruitment often involves moving people around Europe, we have a responsibility to keep costs manageable for our clients while ensuring our contractors are properly supported. Balancing those two priorities has become increasingly important in the current market.”

Skills & Roles in Demand

“The highest-demand roles in 2025 have been Avionic Technicians and B2 Licensed Engineers. Those skills remain incredibly scarce. Competition for experienced candidates is high, and availability continues to lag behind the needs of operators and MROs.

A positive trend we’re seeing is more Composite Repair Technicians on the market. As aircraft incorporate more composite materials, demand for specialists is only increasing, and the talent pool is starting to grow slowly. While it’s still a niche area, this gradual increase is helping to ease pressure in a critical part of aircraft maintenance.”

Market Drivers

“In the last five to ten years, we’ve seen major aviation companies acquiring independent MROs and aerospace businesses. This has significantly reshaped the competitive landscape and changed how services are delivered across the market.

Partly that’s about competition, but it’s also about expanding capability, adding new aircraft types, services and technical expertise to their offering. This consolidation continues to push activity across the sector, driving investment, increasing demand for skilled personnel, and accelerating the pace of change within the industry.”

Looking Ahead to 2026

“For Aviation Recruitment in 2026, I don’t see things slowing down at all. Many of our clients already have fully booked hangars for the entire year, which is great news for them, our contractors and us. It provides a level of visibility and confidence that hasn’t always been there in recent years.

The demand is there, and it’s showing no signs of easing. If anything, the challenge will continue to be finding enough skilled people to keep pace with the workload and support the industry’s ongoing recovery and growth.”

Drivers of Future Demand

"To keep up with demand we’ll be focusing on bringing new contractors into our portfolio, but looking after our existing people always comes first. We’re actively forming new client partnerships, especially with companies that can operate quickly and efficiently.

There is definitely an ageing workforce in aviation. A lot of companies are investing in apprenticeship schemes to fill the gap, which is encouraging. But everyone is asking the same question: how will we staff all these hangars?

There’s a real skill shortage, and companies are becoming stricter about aircraft recency, requiring engineers to have logged a certain number of days on specific aircraft types. Whether that will ease due to demand remains to be seen.

Competition for talent will be higher than ever. Our job is to stay proactive and continue looking after our candidates so that we’re their first call when they become available."

The aviation sector remains one of the most active and talent-short markets in Europe. With rising demand, evolving aircraft technology and increasing MRO consolidation, 2026 is shaping up to be another high-intensity year.

Whether you’re an Aviation Engineer, Avionic Technician, B2 Licensed Engineer, or an MRO planning for growth, V7 Recruitment is here to support you.

Get in touch with our Aviation Division to discuss hiring needs or upcoming contract opportunities.

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