Qatar Airways CEO said he received 20,000 applications for 700 pilot jobs despite airlines battling an industry-wide shortage of flight crews

There is a pilot shortage in the US but one Middle Eastern airline is not having a hard time finding qualified candidates.

In a meeting with reporters at the Farnborough Airshow in England on Monday, Akbar Al Baker said that he wanted to hire 700 pilots and that 20,000 applications had been received.

The applications were from qualified and type-rated individuals who already had the necessary training and certification to fly a specific aircraft.

Al Baker said that they have to go through a very strict testing facility before being selected.

The applications came from all over the world, minus the US, according to the CEO.

Thousands of applications for pilot roles are received by other airlines. In May, Norse Atlantic Airways received 3000 applications for its first 50 pilot jobs, all of which were qualified candidates.

The number was higher than anticipated and the pilots' desire to fly the Boeing 787-9 fueled the interest, according to a spokesman for the company.

The pilot shortage in the US is making it difficult for carriers and passengers. American Airlines and United Airlines have had to ground about 100 regional aircraft each due to not having enough pilots to fly them.

Many regional airlines, like American Airlines' wholly-owned carriers PSA, Envoy, and Piedmont, have increased their hourly pay in order to entice pilots to stay with the company longer.