United Airlines to Hire 15,000 New Employees

United Airlines is planning to hire 15,000 new employees to strengthen the airline ahead of a busy summer travel season.

According to ABC News and supported by the airline’s first-quarter earnings statements, the airline is expecting to hire the same number of workers it hired last year, adding 50,000 workers by 2026. The airline has noted that it already hired 7,000 employees during the first four months of the year.

Its first-quarter earnings statement also published that it recently opened an expanded inflight training center in Houston, Texas, which will help support the training of the 4,000 flight attendants it plans to hire this year. The airline also plans to hire 2,300 pilots.

During the pandemic, airlines saw a large number of people leaving the industry, either because they took retirement or because they were no longer needed when travel plummeted.

“We are in hiring mode here at United Airlines,” said Kate Gebo, United’s executive vice president of human resources, to ABC News.