Airline Pilot Hours Requirements 2026: Minimum Flight Hours at 121 Airlines, in One Table

“How many hours do I need?” has 121 answers. This table gives every one of them, as the airline publishes it, grouped by region. The range is enormous: Air France asks for no total time, Aegean for 70 hours in command, the US majors for 1,500, the Gulf for 1,500–2,000 multi-crew, and a direct-entry Captain at Emirates for 7,000. The qualifier next to the number matters more than the number.

Europe (43)

North America (25)

Middle East (11)

Asia-Pacific (27)

Africa (7)

Latin America (8)

Total, PIC, multi-crew: the three numbers that matter

Total time is everything in your logbook. PIC (pilot in command) is time you signed for the aircraft — instructing counts, sitting in the right seat of an airliner does not, which is why a 3,000-hour First Officer can have 200 hours PIC. Multi-crew (or multi-pilot, MPA, CS-25, “over 10 tonnes”, “more than 19 seats”) is time on aircraft certified for two pilots. Cathay wants 1,500 hours for a First Officer including multi-crew transport time, and its adverts disagree on whether that means aircraft above 45,000 kg or above 10,000 kg; SAS wants 400 hours on CS-25 aircraft, not 400 hours total; Virgin Atlantic wants 1,500 hours on multi-pilot aircraft over 10 tonnes; Cargolux 1,500 multi-pilot hours on jets or 10-tonne turboprops. A 1,500-hour flight instructor meets none of those.

Then there is time in the last 12 months (KLM: 150 hours), hours in command on type for Captains, and operating-seat time only (Riyadh Air counts nothing logged as a relief or cruise pilot).

The 1,500-hour rule

US Part 121 airlines must put an ATP certificate holder in both seats, and the FAA ATP requires 1,500 hours (with 500 cross-country, 100 night, 75 instrument). Every US airline on this page therefore starts at 1,500 — Delta adds 1,000 turbine and 250 PIC/SIC, Alaska 500 turbine, Breeze 750 fixed-wing — and Southwest asks 2,500 total or 1,500 turbine. The Restricted ATP lowers the bar to 1,250 (aviation associate degree), 1,000 (aviation bachelor’s) or 750 hours (military), and the regionals hire at those levels: SkyWest lists them, Envoy advertises “R-ATP to 750”. Canada is looser on paper (WestJet Encore at 1,000 hours and 100 PIC) and stricter at the top (Air Canada 2,000 fixed-wing).

Frozen ATPL and factorised hours

Europe has no 1,500-hour rule for First Officers. A frozen ATPL — CPL, multi-engine IR and all ATPL theory passed — is the entry licence, and airlines set their own floor: none at Air France or Vueling, 70 hours PIC at Aegean, 140 cadet-level at Wizz, 500 at Jet2, KLM, SAS (CS-25) and Lufthansa City (CS-25), 700 at Ryanair, 800 at LOT (500 over 40 tonnes), 1,500 on BA’s long-haul listing (seen in search results, unconfirmed). Some airlines factorise: Jet2’s Senior First Officer band is 2,000 factorised hours, Vueling quotes “200 factorised hours”, Volotea 3,000 factorised for command — jet time is weighted up, piston time down, by the airline’s own formula.

Hours on type

Once you are type-rated, the airline stops caring much about total time and starts caring about time on that aircraft. Norwegian: 500 hours on the 737 if rated, 1,500 total if not. flydubai: 500 hours on the 737NG. Emirates: 1,000 on type inside the 2,000. Etihad: 1,000 on the A320. Air India: 500 on the A320 after line release. Royal Air Maroc: 300 on the 737NG/MAX for a First Officer, 1,000 in command for a Captain. Air Astana: 500 on type for a rated First Officer, 500 in command on type for a rated Captain. If you hold the rating, look for the on-type number first.

Common questions

How many flight hours do you need to become an airline pilot? It depends on the airline and the licence system. US airlines need an FAA ATP at 1,500 hours (750–1,250 with a Restricted ATP at regionals). European airlines take a frozen ATPL with anything from no minimum to about 500–800 hours. Gulf and Asian carriers typically want 1,500–2,000 hours on multi-crew jets. The lowest published figures on our board: Air France (no minimum), Vueling (no minimum), Binter (no minimum), Aegean Airlines (70), Smartwings (70).

What is the difference between total time and PIC time? Total time is every hour logged in any seat. PIC time is time as the responsible commander. Flight instruction counts as PIC; airline First Officer time counts as SIC, not PIC, which is why Captain minimums quote PIC or “in command” hours separately.

Do turboprop hours count toward airline minimums? For multi-crew requirements, usually yes if the turboprop is certified for two pilots and over about 10 tonnes or 19 seats (ATR, Dash 8, Saab): Cargolux, Virgin Atlantic and Jet2 say so explicitly. Single-pilot turboprop time counts toward total time only.

What does 1,000 hours turbine mean? Time on turbine-powered aircraft — turboprop or jet — in either seat. Delta requires 1,000 hours of fixed-wing turbine, Alaska 500. Piston time does not count toward it, however many hours you have.

How many hours to be a Captain? Published direct-entry Captain minimums run from 3,000 hours (SAS, Jet2) through 3,500 (Ryanair, Wizz), 4,000 (easyJet, Eurowings fast-track), 4,500 (Air Astana), 5,000 (flydubai, flynas, Vietnam Airlines), 5,500 (Etihad) to 7,000 (Emirates), always with a separate in-command figure. Internal upgrades at most airlines happen at similar totals but on the seniority list’s schedule.