Before you invest in flight training, it is essential to know whether you meet the requirements. The requirements for becoming a pilot go beyond a good diploma: your body, your mind and your language skills are all tested. Do the medical first, before you invest money in training. You can have the examination done by an approved aeromedical examiner. The first step to becoming a pilot is the Class 1 medical. Without an unrestricted Class 1 your chances of a job are virtually nil, because most employers require a medical without limitations. A Class 1 medical is required for applicants for and holders of a commercial pilot licence (CPL), multi-pilot licence (MPL) or airline transport pilot licence (ATPL). Most flight schools ask for a valid Class 1 medical at intake or shortly after the start of training. A valid Class 1 medical is essential for a pilot career, because without it you are not allowed to fly professionally. Loss of licence insurance can partly cover this risk, often with a contribution from the employer. The Class 1 aeromedical examination covers a broad range of health aspects, including vision (light sensitivity, colour, normality and depth perception), and a neurological and psychological evaluation. Class 1 medical certificates are in principle valid for 12 months, but only for 6 months for pilots over 60, or for single-pilot commercial flights carrying passengers when the pilot is over 40. According to a pilot in 2025, temporary sick leave usually has no consequences for a pilot's medical in Western countries. You must be able to handle the training, including the theory and practical exams, without medication.1234

Good command of English is essential: all aviation communication is in English. A higher level of prior education, such as an upper secondary diploma, improves your chances in the paper selection, also for modular courses. EASA formally sets no diploma requirement for airline pilot training. In addition to the Class 1 medical, you need a good command of English and a certificate of good conduct. Some flight schools accept candidates with a lower secondary school diploma, but airlines often ask for more. School results count when applying as an airline pilot. Airlines apply different hiring requirements from flight schools; with a vocational diploma you may be admitted to a school, but your chances with airlines are smaller. In 2008 airlines often advised obtaining an upper secondary diploma before applying to a flight school. Some flight schools do accept you with a vocational diploma, but in 2007 almost all airlines required at least upper secondary education with physics. Prior education requirements for airline pilots vary by country and airline. Airlines such as Lufthansa and TUI in Germany ask for a pre-university diploma or a completed first year of higher professional education. In 2007 Lufthansa and VLM required the Abitur or Fachhochschule, which is comparable to a pre-university diploma or a completed bachelor's from a university of applied sciences. A Lufthansa CityLine pilot with lower secondary and technical vocational education in aircraft maintenance got no further because Lufthansa requires a bachelor's level; nobody at Lufthansa was interested in his vocational diploma. In 2007 prior education played a smaller role in the United Kingdom, but on the continent airlines almost always asked for a bachelor's degree or higher. In 2006, KLM required pilots to have at least a senior secondary or pre-university diploma with Dutch, English, mathematics and physics, good knowledge of English and Dutch, an EU passport, and a height between 1.57 m and 2.03 m. A pilot with a vocational qualification in aircraft maintenance worked for four years in Transavia's technical department and then started flight training; from the start of training to a flying job took about twenty months. A pilot at a small Asian national airline says that level of education was not a factor in finding work, and that the right type ratings and experience on type are the most important qualifications.125678

Schools distinguish between the age at which you may sit the selection and the age at which you start the course. Schools set height requirements, and these are the school's own requirements, in addition to the medical. At the medical, your height is measured barefoot, candidates report, so shoes or insoles do not count. Anyone who works in the security restricted area of an airport needs an airport pass, and a security clearance to get one. Selections for pilot training often start from age 17. There is no formal upper age limit for becoming a pilot, although commercial flying in Europe is limited to age 65. This means that someone who starts at 40 then has roughly twenty flying years ahead. Career changers in their thirties or forties start every year, and the modular route is often the practical choice for them. Many only start this training in their mid-thirties. An instructor with 25 years of experience said in 2025 that, realistically, someone over 35 can only train on the modular route. Their opportunities lie more in private aviation, for example with companies such as NetJets that look for more mature pilots, than on large Boeing or Airbus aircraft. Specific requirements applied from a height of 1.90 m (according to pilot discussions in 2006).2489

On the modular EASA route there are specific hour requirements: 70 hours as pilot in command (PIC) for the multi-engine rating, 100 hours PIC for the CPL (of which 20 hours cross-country) and 50 hours cross-country PIC to start the instrument rating. Theory on the modular route consists of courses for the instrument rating (IR), CPL and ATPL; all exams must be passed within 18 months, after which the passes remain valid for 36 months for the issue of a CPL or IR. Hours on a TMG (touring motor glider) or MLA (microlight) count only to a limited extent towards modular EASA flight training. For the CPL at least 5 hours must be flown on a complex aircraft and the test must also take place in a complex aircraft (according to pilot discussions in 2010). A Multi-Pilot Licence (MPL) programme links the student to an operator during training and leads directly to becoming an airline pilot. There should be little delay between the different training phases and the type rating. According to a pilot and former instructor in 2023, plenty of people have completed professional pilot training on the modular route alongside a job. Professional pilot training on the modular route alongside a job can be finished in 4 to 5 years. According to an aspiring pilot in 2025, flying as a profession revolves around fixed procedures, checklists and preparing far ahead, such as missed approaches, alternates and emergency procedures. Focus and discipline are in high demand during airline pilot training and afterwards. Ryanair requests the training file to check whether all exams were passed at the first attempt. Candidates who had to take flight or theory exams several times have little chance of a job at this airline. In 2023, besides a Class 1 medical, NetJets Europe also asked for at least 1,500 hours of total flying experience and 500 hours of multi-crew/multi-engine experience. The KLM vacancy for external airline pilots in November 2017 required a valid type rating on a jet, so turboprop pilots could not apply. Applicants also had to have flown 150 hours commercially in the previous 12 months, which practically ruled out a direct move from military flying (according to pilot discussions in 2017).46791011