Aviation in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

and the

European Free Trade Association The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe, European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerlan ...

is regulated by the

European Union Aviation Safety Agency The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monitori ...

(EASA). EASA specifies common standards for the licensing of

aircraft pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

s. EASA does not issue licences, rather licences are issued by member states. However, because the same standards are used, EASA licences are recognised by all member states. Flight Crew Licensing is regulated by the document EU Part-FCL.

Licences

The most basic licence is the Light Aircraft Pilot Licence (LAPL). Separate licences are issued for aeroplanes, helicopters, sailplanes and balloons. This is not a standard

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

licence.

Private Pilot Licence A private pilot licence (PPL) or, in the United States, a private pilot certificate, is a type of pilot licence that allows the holder to act as pilot in command of an aircraft privately (not for remuneration). The licence requirements are dete ...

s are issued for aeroplanes (PPL(A)) and helicopters (PPL(H)). The SPL is issued for sailplanes (gliders) and the BPL for balloons. A

Commercial Pilot Licence A commercial pilot licence (CPL) is a type of pilot licence that permits the holder to act as a pilot of an aircraft and be paid for their work. Different licenses are issued for the major aircraft categories: airplanes, airships, balloons, glid ...

(CPL) allows a pilot to fly for remuneration. An

Airline Transport Pilot Licence The airline transport pilot license (ATPL), or in the United States of America, an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate is the highest level of aircraft pilot certificate. In the United States, those certified as airline transport pilots ...

(ATPL) allows a pilot to fly for

air transport Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

operations. It requires fourteen theoretical exams with a mandatory ground-school course.

Ratings

Instrument ratings

Instrument Rating Instrument rating refers to the qualifications that a pilot must have in order to fly under instrument flight rules (IFR). It requires specific training and instruction beyond what is required for a private pilot certificate or commercial pilot ce ...

permits a pilot to fly in

Instrument Meteorological Conditions In aviation, instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) is a METAR, flight category that describes weather conditions that require pilots to fly primarily by reference to Flight instruments, instruments, and therefore under instrument flight rule ...

(IMC). The competency-based instrument rating is obtained with a reduced training course, but it cannot be used on high-performance aircraft. The en-route instrument rating permits the pilot to fly in IMC only during the en-route phase of the flight, not during take-off or landing. An EASA instrument rating can only be issued after acclimatisation flying in EU airspace and a skill test in EU airspace.

Night rating

A Night Rating permits a pilot to fly at night.

References

External links