WORKFORCE | 19 June 2026 Juliet Thomson, Menzies Aviation. Image: © The aviation industry is entering one of the biggest hiring cycles in its history. An estimated 2.3m new professionals will be needed globally by 2044, with 1.5m people required in the next decade, writes Menzies Aviation chief people officer, Juliet Thomson. Competition for talent is already intense. Employers who limit their search to traditional pipelines will struggle to keep pace.