Many pilots that are still flying have faced deteriorating working conditions. Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, for example, instituted permanent pay cuts of up to 58 percent, and Turkish Airways and Singapore Airlines Ltd have temporarily lowered salaries.
"We can see the effect the pandemic has had on employed pilots too," GOOSE Recruitment chief executive officer and founder Mark Charman said in a statement.
"Large numbers are feeling insecure about their jobs, an increased number are planning to look for new roles this year as well as many feeling less valued by their employers."
For the unemployed pilots in the survey, 84 percent said it was due to the pandemic. Before COVID-19 hit, there had been widespread pilot shortages that had driven up demand for aviators and led to improving pay and conditions.
Now, 82 percent of unemployed pilots would take a pay cut for a new opportunity, the survey found.
For those that have kept their jobs, pilots in Europe reported being the most stressed by COVID-19, with respondents citing the risk of catching the virus, disjointed rules and the possibility of being placed in quarantine during a rotation as among their concerns.
Forty percent of pilots said their mental health had been affected by the pandemic, with the figure higher among younger pilots.
"The amount of stress and anxiety the pandemic has caused me has permanently scarred my outlook on life," one surveyed pilot said.
Here in New Zealand, hundreds of Air New Zealand pilots have lost their jobs due to the pandemic.
