United Airlines said on Thursday it will give conditional job offers to active-duty U.S. military pilots to join the airline as a first officer once they complete service.

The plan comes at a time when several U.S. airlines have been grappling with challenges in recruiting enough trained pilots and crew members as they aim to capitalize on the strong surge in international travel demand following the pandemic.

United Airlines has more than 16,000 pilots at present, including over 3,000 who have served or currently serve in the United States Armed Forces.

Military pilots applying to join the carrier would not need an airline transport pilot certificate at the time of application, but can obtain it before joining.

United hired more than 4,000 new pilots in the past 24 months and expects to add over 10,000 this decade, according to the company.

(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)