Ethiopian Airlines Pilot Requirements 2026: Hours, License and Hiring Process

Ethiopian Airlines, which Boeing calls Africa’s largest carrier, recruits pilots from outside Ethiopia for one seat at the last check: Captain, on the Airbus A350, the Boeing 777/787 and the 737, with screening in Addis Ababa, its hub. Each Expat Captain posting asks for a current JAA/FAA or ICAO ATPL with a current rating on the type, 3,500 hours of jet time, 2,500 of them as pilot in command on jets and more than 500 in command on the type, a Class 1 medical, ICAO English Level 4 or above and an age of no more than 60. At the last check, on 16 October 2026, Ethiopian’s vacancies pages listed the three postings with registration and closing dates “Open”; a B757/767 Captain posting that job boards copied in July 2026 was not among them, and no First Officer posting was listed. The non-rated B737NG First Officer advert that job boards copied is marked closed. In May 2026 Ethiopian’s chief executive said the group had more than 100 Boeing and Airbus aircraft on order for delivery by 2032.

Is Ethiopian Airlines hiring pilots now?

Recruiting at the last check on 16 October 2026 — First Officer seat: Unconfirmed; Captain seat: Recruiting. Expat Captains on the A350, B777/787 and B737: 3,500 h jet, 2,500 h jet PIC and over 500 h in command on type, current on type, no more than 60. No First Officer posting open

Requirements, as published

Reading the Expat Captain requirements line by line

• Three totals, all on jets. 3,500 hours of jet time; 2,500 of them as pilot in command on jet aircraft; and more than 500 hours of command time on the type you apply for. The same three figures appear on all three postings on Ethiopian’s vacancies pages, the A350, the B777/787 and the B737 (where the time on type is on the B737NG or MAX), and on the B757/767 posting that job boards copied. As written they count jet time only, so turboprop hours, Dash 8 time included, do not add to them.
• Rated and current on the type now. Each posting asks for a current rating on its type and for applicants who are “current and qualified”, which it defines as within three months of the last proficiency check. A Captain between jobs, or one whose last check is more than three months old, does not meet the posting as written.
• The license and its authentication letter. A current and valid ATPL, “JAA/FAA or ICAO” as the postings word it, and a license authentication letter from the civil aviation authority that issued it, sent with the application. The postings do not say whether you then need an Ethiopian license or a validation of yours, so ask the recruiters.
• Class 1 and ICAO English Level 4. A valid Class 1 medical and ICAO English Level 4 or above, with an excellent standard of English. Level 4 is the operational level of ICAO’s six-level scale; ICAO recommends re-testing a Level 4 holder at least every three years and a Level 5 holder at least every six, with no re-test for Level 6, so check the date on your license’s language endorsement before you apply.
• No more than 60. The age limit applies when you apply. ICAO Annex 1 stops pilots in multi-pilot crews flying in international commercial air transport after their 65th birthday, so the 60 is Ethiopian’s limit for hiring, not the international limit for flying.
• A clean record and a long passport. No history of accidents or incidents, and a passport valid for at least two years.

Entry routes

• Expat Captain A350 — posting open at the last check (Ethiopian’s vacancies, 16 October 2026)
• Expat Captain B777 / B787 — posting open at the last check (Ethiopian’s vacancies, 16 October 2026)
• Expat Captain B737 (NG/MAX) — posting open at the last check (Ethiopian’s vacancies, 16 October 2026)
• Expat Captain B757 / B767 — no live vacancy on Ethiopian’s pages on 16 October 2026; last seen in a job-board copy dated 18 July 2026
• First Officer B737NG — non-rated, 1,500 h, type rating provided; the advert job boards copied is marked closed, and Ethiopian’s pages listed no First Officer posting on 16 October 2026
• Ethiopian Aviation University cadet route — ET-sponsored trainee pilot intakes for Ethiopian applicants

First Officers, cadets and the other airlines in Africa

The only First Officer advert for outside pilots we found was for non-rated B737NG First Officers: 1,500 hours total on multi-pilot airplanes, an ATPL, a Class 1 medical, ICAO English Level 4 and a maximum age of 55, with the type rating provided, as job boards copied it. Those copies are undated and marked closed, and Ethiopian’s vacancies pages listed no First Officer posting at the last check, on 16 October 2026, so treat the stream as closed until Ethiopian advertises it again.

Ethiopian trains its own pilots at Ethiopian Aviation University in Addis Ababa, the former Ethiopian Aviation Academy, founded in 1956. Its January 2026 graduation, of 457 trainees from 12 countries, included 58 pilots (Ethiopian Airlines, January 2026). The airline’s sponsored trainee pilot intakes are for Ethiopian applicants and open on its vacancies page in fixed registration windows; the last one we found was announced in August 2025.

If you are not yet a rated jet Captain, these are the other airlines in Africa on our jobs board, as recorded at each airline’s last check:

Read the type rating column as well as the hours: where an airline provides the rating, you can join without having flown its type.

Selection process

1. E-mail application to Expatrecruitment@ethiopianairlines.com, with the position in the subject line: a CV, all credentials, the filled application form and scanned documents
2. Document screening against the posting
3. Assessment in Addis Ababa: screening is held every week, Monday to Friday, the assessment takes two days and immediate assessment dates are available; travel on Ethiopian’s network, hotel accommodation and ground transportation are provided

The application, the assessment and the package

As the Expat Captain postings on Ethiopian’s vacancies pages set them out at the last check, on 16 October 2026:

• The application goes by e-mail to Expatrecruitment@ethiopianairlines.com, with the position in the subject line: your CV, all your credentials and the application form attached to the posting, filled in, with scanned copies of your medical certificate, your ATPL, a logbook copy that shows your total flight hours and the license authentication letter. The postings give no closing date.
• The assessment is held in Addis Ababa every week, Monday to Friday, takes two days, and the postings say immediate assessment dates are available. Ethiopian provides travel on its network, hotel accommodation (five-star, the postings say) and ground transportation. It does not publish what the two days include.
• The package, as advertised: a salary with flying, per diem and overtime allowances, a housing allowance, free transportation, a long-term contract, days off, paid annual leave, medical and personal accident insurance, an annual bonus and Business Class ticket benefits. The postings give no salary figures and no contract length, and do not say who arranges the work permit and residence papers, so ask before you travel.

Bases and fleet

Bases: Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, Ethiopian’s hub, where screening is held; the job-board copies of the Captain postings give Addis Ababa as the base · Bishoftu International Airport: construction began on 10 January 2026, with a first phase targeted for 2030 for 60 million passengers a year (Ethiopian Airlines)

Fleet: A350-900 and A350-1000, B777-200LR and B777-300ER, B787-8 and B787-9, B737-800 and 737 MAX 8, B767-300ER and Dash 8-400 for passengers; B777F and converted B737 freighters for cargo · More than 100 aircraft on order from Boeing and Airbus for delivery by 2032 (the group’s CEO, 14 May 2026); The Reporter put the fleet then at 147 · Nine 787-9s ordered, for delivery between 2031 and 2033, and the purchase of 11 more 737 MAX jets completed, both finalized in December 2025 (Boeing and Ethiopian, 20 January 2026) · Eight 777-8 Freighters and two 777 Freighters ordered, Ethiopian’s second 777X order after eight 777-9 passenger jets (Boeing, 30 September 2026)

How to prepare

Ethiopian hires its expat Captains already rated and current on the type, so prepare on the aircraft you fly now. The B737 bank below covers the 737, with its NG to MAX quiz for the 737 MAX 8s in Ethiopian’s fleet, and the B787 bank covers the Dreamliner; there is no A350 or 777 bank on v1prep, so Captains on those types should revise from their own manuals and work the ATPL theory banks for the performance, meteorology and air law questions underneath. Addis Ababa Bole lies at more than 7,600 feet, so revise takeoff and landing performance at a high-elevation airport. Ethiopian does not publish what its two-day assessment includes, so be ready for a technical interview on your type and a competency interview, with the CRM interview set for the crew resource management questions. Do the paperwork first: ask the authority that issued your ATPL for the license authentication letter early, since the posting wants it with the application; check that your last proficiency check will still be within three months and your passport valid for two more years; and total your logbook the way the posting counts it, with jet time, jet command time and command time on the type on separate lines.

For the interview itself, read the complete airline pilot interview guide and the Library’s competency-based pilot interviews and airline simulator assessment. For the flying from Addis Ababa, the Library’s factors affecting takeoff and landing performance explains what a high, hot airport does to the takeoff run and the climb, and ETOPS and extended diversion time operations covers the long-haul ground of the A350, 777 and 787 fleets. If you are an Airbus or Boeing Captain weighing the Gulf as well, compare Emirates pilot requirements and, on the 737, flydubai’s; our direct entry Captain jobs page lists every airline on our board that takes Captains from outside. Check Ethiopian’s entry on the jobs board for the latest status.

What we could not confirm

• Read on Ethiopian’s vacancies pages on 16 October 2026: the three Expat Captain postings. Researched on 16 October 2026 from search-engine results and job boards: the B757/767 Captain posting, the non-rated First Officer advert, the fleet and the training figures. Confirm the vacancy is still open before you apply.
• Whether Ethiopian still recruits B757/767 Captains: that posting appears only in job-board copies (the latest dated 18 July 2026), not on Ethiopian’s pages on 16 October 2026
• Whether Ethiopian still runs a non-rated First Officer stream: the B737NG First Officer advert (1,500 h, type rating provided, a maximum age of 55) appears only in undated job-board copies marked closed, and Ethiopian’s pages listed no First Officer posting on 16 October 2026
• Contract length and pay: the postings name a long-term contract and the allowances but give no figures
• What the two-day assessment in Addis Ababa includes: Ethiopian does not publish its stages
• Who obtains the work permit and residence papers, and whether an expat Captain needs an Ethiopian license or a validation of a foreign one: the postings ask only for the license authentication letter, and we could not read the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority’s rules
• The current fleet count: sources from May to August 2026 give between 147 and about 170 aircraft

These points are not published clearly by the airline. Treat them as leads, not facts, and confirm them on the careers page: careers page.

Common questions

Is Ethiopian Airlines hiring pilots? Yes, for Captains, at the last check, on 16 October 2026: Ethiopian’s vacancies pages listed Expat Captain postings for the A350, the B777/787 and the B737, with registration and closing dates shown as open and applications by e-mail to Expatrecruitment@ethiopianairlines.com. A B757/767 Captain posting that job boards copied in July 2026 was not on Ethiopian’s pages that day. We found no open First Officer posting: the non-rated B737NG First Officer advert that job boards copied is marked closed.

How many hours do you need to fly for Ethiopian Airlines? For an Expat Captain post, 3,500 hours of jet time, 2,500 of them as pilot in command on jet aircraft, and more than 500 hours of command time on the type you apply for (on the B737, the B737NG or MAX), the same on all three postings. The non-rated B737NG First Officer advert, now closed, asked for 1,500 hours total on multi-pilot airplanes.

Is there an age limit for Ethiopian Airlines pilots? Yes. The Expat Captain postings ask for applicants of no more than 60, and the closed B737NG First Officer advert, as job boards copied it, gave a maximum of 55. Ethiopian’s trainee pilot intakes for Ethiopian applicants publish their own conditions with each announcement.

Does Ethiopian Airlines provide the type rating? Not for Captains: each Expat Captain posting asks for a current rating on its type and for applicants within three months of their last proficiency check. The non-rated B737NG First Officer advert provided the 737 rating, but the job-board copy was marked closed at the last check, on 16 October 2026.

How do you become a pilot at Ethiopian Airlines without experience? Through Ethiopian Aviation University, the airline’s training school in Addis Ababa, whose January 2026 graduation included 58 pilots. Ethiopian’s sponsored trainee pilot intakes are for Ethiopian applicants and open on its vacancies page in fixed registration windows. From outside Ethiopia, the published ways in are the Expat Captain postings and, when Ethiopian advertises it, the non-rated First Officer stream.