Republican Senator Ted Cruz, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, has called on President Donald Trump to back a global effort to raise the mandatory airline pilot retirement age to 67. In a letter reported by Reuters, Cruz urged the administration to support the proposal at this week’s United Nations aviation meeting in Montreal. The senator said current policy is “forcing thousands of highly qualified and experienced pilots into early retirement every year.”

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will weigh the proposal, advanced by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), when delegates gather for its triennial assembly on Tuesday. IATA represents about 350 airlines worldwide and has argued the increase can be made “without any impact to aviation safety.”

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