As the Gulf Shores airport has grown in traffic so has the desire of young people to become licensed pilots. Gulf Shores now has a high school aviation program, the airport has a established flight school and the area has a national airline with more than a dozen direct flights. Gulf Shores has truly soared in the flight business.

As the established pilot community has seen an abundance of commercial pilots take early retirement before their mandatory age of 65, the workflow of new pilots has grown. New FAA data figures show continued growth in the training pipeline and a milestone for women in aviation.

Ryan Ewing of Flying Magazine pointed out what the data shows. The U.S. student pilot population continued to grow in 2025, according to newly released FAA airmen data, while the overall pilot population trended younger and the number of women pilots continued to increase.

The FAA counted 370,286 active student pilots at the end of 2025, up from 345,495 in 2024 and 222,629 in 2020. Total active pilots also rose to 887,519, compared with 848,770 a year earlier.

At the same time, the average age of active pilots fell to 42.1 in 2025 from 42.5 in 2024 and 43.9 in 2020. The average age of student pilots, however, edged up to 35.8, indicating growth in the training pipeline is coming from both younger entrants and older newcomers.

Women Pilot Growth Reaches Six Figures 

Women also made up a larger share of the pilot population. The FAA reported 100,704 active women pilots in 2025, up from 91,694 in 2024 and 58,541 in 2020. Among student pilots, women totaled 60,764, or 16.4 percent of the category.