White House withdraws former Delta pilot for international aviation post

In September 2025, the White House withdrew its nomination of former Delta Air Lines pilot Jeffrey Anderson for the position of U.S. ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The decision came after opposition from the Air Line Pilots Association, a union representing over 79,000 pilots across 42 U.S. and Canadian airlines.

The union deemed Anderson unqualified for the role, citing his stance in favor of raising the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots. Despite this, some U.S. lawmakers urged the Trump administration to advocate for increasing the retirement age to 67 during ICAO meetings. The U.S. ICAO post has remained vacant since July 2022, following C. B. Sullenberger's resignation after a brief tenure.

ICAO, based in Montreal, sets international aviation standards for its 193 member countries, though it lacks enforcement powers. Last month, Ukraine called for ICAO to urge its members to ban operations in Russian airspace following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.