How to become a commercial pilot in the UK
Airline pilot training is no mean feat and there are things you’ll need to know before you start your journey to become an airline pilot. To be able to commence Acron Aviation Academy training, you need to have specific qualifications and meet certain requirements.
What is needed to be a pilot in the UK?
Once you have met the requirements (which are outlined on each of our individual course pages) and been accepted to train as a pilot, you'll need an Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) and a Class 1 Medical Certificate to become a commercial airline pilot. Upon completion of training:
- You will be issued a ‘frozen ATPL’ at the end of your commercial pilot training, this enables you to apply for jobs as a First Officer
- To ‘unfreeze’ your ATPL, you need to complete 1,500 flying hours
- It takes 70 weeks to complete flight school training before cadets embark on their rewarding careers
Skills needed to become a pilot
To become a pilot, you will need to exhibit a strong set of skills alongside any formal qualifications.
You will need: passion, self-discipline, technical aptitude, problem-solving skills, teamwork, spatial awareness, a good understanding of maths and physics, excellent communications skills and the ability to make decisions under pressure to become a successful airline pilot.
To learn more about the skills, qualifications and requirements needed to embark on a commercial airline pilot career, take a look at our Academy entry criteria.
1
Research pilot training programmes
There are plenty of commercial pilot training programmes to choose from. Acron Aviation Academy is renowned for the quality of its pilot training. What sets us apart is our state-of-the-art flight school and training facilities, modern aircraft with the latest aviation flight deck technology and our team of Instructors with thousands of hours combined experience.
You will also need to meet entry criteria relating to age and height, language, education, medicals, visas and background checks. For course-specific entry requirements, please visit each of our pilot training courses.
2
Training
Once your admission process has completed, you will officially begin your journey towards becoming a pilot and begin ground school, known as Theoretical Knowledge training. Often the most exciting stage of becoming a pilot, you will then take to the skies, learning to fly piston aircraft for the first time at our location in Orlando, Florida.
When you reach the stage of commercial (CPL) and instrument (IR) flight training, you will be well on your way to become a pilot in the UK. Once you have completed CPL and IR training, it is time to commence your simulator flight training which is the step before being placed with an airline - a crucial milestone in your commercial airline pilot career.
3
Securing an airline role
Airlines such as British Airways, Wizz Air UK and easyJet actively 'tag' students during their training - offering career pathways. This means eligible cadets receive conditional offers of employment, effectively securing their first pilot role before they have even finished training. Upon successful graduation, you are also placed in our Graduate Placement Pool where our dedicated team will also work to secure your employment as a Co-Pilot with a global airline. We are proud to have strong relationships with major UK airlines to help provide excellent commercial airline pilot career opportunities for our cadets.
Once employed or selected by an airline, you will undertake aircraft specific Type Rating training to prepare you to fly the type of aircraft your airline operates, as well as their standard operating procedures.
Congratulations on becoming a pilot in the UK! You are now employed as a First Officer, sitting in the right-hand seat of the flight deck flying passengers on commercial aircraft.