How to Become an Airline Pilot in France: License, Cost and Airlines

France licenses its airline pilots through the DGAC, the Direction générale de l’Aviation civile, under the EASA rules every member state shares: a Class 1 medical first, then an integrated course, the modular route or an airline’s cadet course, to a commercial license with an instrument rating and the ATPL exams passed, the “frozen ATPL” airlines hire on. You register for the DGAC’s theory exams through its online system, OCEANE, once an approved school has trained you. Two French schools’ courses were listed at EUR 99,500 and EUR 119,700 for 2026, while ENAC, the French civil aviation university, pays the technical costs of the pilots it selects (Onisep’s directory and ENAC’s notice, as search results showed them on 29 and 30 October 2026), and Air France funds its cadets (its pilot page, at the last check on 21 October 2026). The route every EASA state shares, hour by hour, is on our Europe page; this one is about what is French: the DGAC, its medical and exam rules, ENAC, the schools, the Air France and Transavia route, the airlines with French bases and the French they ask, and the Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace.

1. The Class 1 medical, under the DGAC

The Class 1 medical is the certificate the commercial license, the MPL and the ATPL all need, so get it before you pay for any training. Your first Class 1 examination can be done only at an aero-medical center (AeMC) certified for Class 1, and a renewal or revalidation by an AeMC or by an aero-medical examiner (AME) with Class 1 privileges (EASA’s medical FAQ, which points to the national authority for the lists; step 1 of the Europe page). It is valid for 12 months, and 6 months from the age of 60, or from 40 if you fly single-pilot commercial air transport with passengers (MED.A.045). What is French, from the DGAC’s guide to medical and administrative practice for aircrew (its Pôle médical, 27 November 2025, read on 30 October 2026):

• The DGAC approves the centers and the examiners. The Pôle médical, the medical department of the DGAC’s safety directorate (DSAC), supervises the AeMCs and issues the EASA approval that lets an AME sign Class 1, Class 2, LAPL or cabin crew certificates, each by the level of the approval. The guide sets out the same validity by age and the same rule: the first Class 1 examination only at an AeMC, its revalidations and renewals at an AeMC or with an AME approved for Class 1, a revalidation being an examination in the 45 days before the certificate expires. A ministry answer to a question in the Senate, of 4 June 2015, said the same of the first examination, and that the DGAC examines the approvals of AeMCs and AMEs.
• Where to go. The guide lists four AeMCs in mainland France, two military, at Clamart (the Percy military hospital) and Toulon, and two civil, at Roissy and Toulouse, and four overseas, in Guadeloupe, Papeete, New Caledonia and La Réunion. Ask the center whether it examines civil applicants for an initial Class 1, how long you wait for an appointment and what it charges.
• What the airlines ask. Air France’s Cadet program asks, to apply, for a Class 2 without exemption from a physician approved by EASA, the DGAC or the CEMA, a Class 1 also being accepted, and for a Class 1 examination before you enter the school if you are selected; its direct-entry stream asks for a valid Class 1 (checked 21 October 2026).

A Class 1 issued in another EASA state is valid in France (the Europe page). The medical certification article explains the classes and the examination.

2. ENAC, the French schools and the Air France cadets

The routes are EASA’s. An integrated course at an approved training organization (ATO) has at least 750 hours of theory and 195 hours of flight training, of which up to 55 may be instrument time in a ground trainer, and the modular route needs 150 hours of flight time, 50 of them in command of airplanes, before the commercial course’s flying starts (Part-FCL Appendix 3, paragraphs A and E); the MPL is run for an airline. Step 2 of the Europe page sets out each route. What is French:

• ENAC’s EPL course. The École nationale de l’aviation civile, the French civil aviation university at Toulouse, trains airline pilots as “élèves pilotes de ligne” (EPL) on an integrated commercial air transport pilot course of about 24 months, to the ATPL theory, the commercial license, the multi-engine instrument rating and the MCC, with a degree at the level of a bachelor’s (bac+3, grade de licence), at its centers at Biscarrosse, Carcassonne, Castelnaudary, Melun, Montpellier, Muret, Saint-Étienne-de-Saint-Geoirs, Saint-Yan and Toulouse. It has three ways in: EPL/S, from 16 to 23, for students with at least one year of higher education and no aeronautical knowledge; EPL/U, from 17 to 28, with a two-year science degree and an airplane or helicopter license with a valid rating, a glider license or the ATPL theory passed in the last year; and EPL/P, from 18 to 30, with the baccalauréat, a commercial license and the ATPL theory (ENAC’s program sheet, read on 30 October 2026, which calls its details indicative). ENAC pays the technical costs of the training, you pay your accommodation and meals, and the tuition fee was EUR 1,500 a year in 2026, against EUR 1,425 in 2024 (ENAC’s notices for the EPL/U and EPL/P competitions, as search results showed them on 29 and 30 October 2026). Check the current notice on concours.enac.fr for the dates and the number of places.
• ENAC’s ATPL preparatory cycle. A separate selection, for pupils in their final year of secondary school, leads to a 10-month course of upgrading in mathematics, physics, English and French; its 2026 notice took online registrations from 1 December 2025 to 19 January 2026 (ENAC’s notices, as search results showed them on 29 and 30 October 2026). Check the age and diploma conditions in the current notice on concours.enac.fr. Air France holds the PSY1 stage of its pilot selection, the psychotechnical and psychomotor tests, at ENAC (checked 21 October 2026).
• Private schools. The French ATOs are approved by the DGAC, as the national authority (step 2 of the Europe page). For two of them, Onisep, the French state’s education and careers information office, gives the total cost of the airline pilot course for 2026: Aéropyrénées Flight Training Center, at Perpignan, EUR 99,500 for an 18-month full-time course; Mermoz Academy, at Tours, EUR 119,700 for a two-year full-time course, or EUR 59,850 a year (the total cost of each school’s airline pilot course for 2026 in Onisep’s directory, as search results showed it on 29 and 30 October 2026; Onisep’s pages refused a direct read, and neither school’s own price list could be found). Onisep adds that Mermoz Academy’s course is registered at level 6 of the national register of qualifications (RNCP). Check what each price includes, and the entry conditions, with the school itself: step 7 has the questions to ask.
• The Air France Cadet program trains you from the beginning, fully funded by Air France, at an Air France partner school: 2 to 2.5 years on its pilot page, 9 months of ATPL theory and then 15 to 21 months of flight and simulator training to the commercial license, the multi-engine instrument rating and the MCC, about 150 flight hours and 80 in the simulator, while its FAQ and its press release of 15 June 2026 give 24 months (checked 21 October 2026).
• Cadets are employed during training on an open-ended professionalization contract, paid 65% of the French minimum wage (SMIC) under 21, 80% from 21 to 26 and 100% over 26, with accommodation provided through the school phase (checked 21 October 2026).
• You must not hold a commercial license when applications close, only the ATPL theory or a private license, and you need one of four academic levels: the baccalauréat with the ATPL theory passed at an approved school in an EU state, a validated first year of the classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles, two years of scientific higher education (120 ECTS credits), or a validated master’s first year (BAC+4) or enrollment in the second (checked 21 October 2026).
• The selection opens with PSY0, a remote test of about three hours in logic, reasoning, aeronautical general knowledge and English, before PSY1 at ENAC and PSY2 at Roissy (checked 21 October 2026).
• Graduates join Air France on its medium-haul network, on the A220 or the A320, or are seconded to Transavia, on the Boeing 737 or the A320neo, and cannot choose which (checked 21 October 2026).
• The 2026 window ran from 15 June to 31 July 2026 and has closed, its selection runs into early 2027, and Air France publishes no date for the next one (checked 21 October 2026).
• Transavia France, at Paris-Orly and at its regional bases of Lyon, Nantes and Montpellier, takes its First Officers through Air France’s “Pilote professionnel” selection and its cadets through the Air France Cadet program (checked 28 October 2026).
• La Réunion. Aéro Run Training, the training subsidiary of Air Austral, which our jobs board does not track, announced on 7 May 2026 a partnership with Aéropyrénées for the first ATPL theory course on the island: nine months in person for 20 students at Aéro Run Training’s premises in Sainte-Marie, the first intake in January 2027, the flight training then possible at Aéropyrénées in mainland France (Air Austral’s press release, read on 30 October 2026). The regional magazine Leader Réunion reported on 14 June 2026 a cost of about EUR 12,000 for the theory course.

Before your first multi-pilot type rating you also need a multi-crew cooperation (MCC) course, on an integrated course at least 25 hours of theory and exercises (Appendix 3, paragraph A.7.1), and the upset prevention and recovery training of FCL.745.A. The MCC courses article explains them, and the cadet programs page compares who pays on each airline scheme.

3. The ATPL exams with the DGAC, through OCEANE

The ATPL theory papers, the 75% pass mark and the time limits (every paper within 18 months, in no more than six sittings and four attempts at any one) are EASA’s (FCL.025), set out in step 3 of the Europe page and in our ATPL exams guide; once passed, the theory counts for 36 months toward the commercial license or instrument rating, and toward the ATPL for seven years from the last validity date of an instrument rating in your license. What is French is how you get to the exam, as the DGAC’s pages on the ministry’s site (ecologie.gouv.fr) set it out, read on 30 October 2026:

• OCEANE. Professional pilots register for the theory exams of the ATPL, the commercial license, the instrument rating, the competency-based instrument rating (IR CB) and the en-route instrument rating (EIR) through OCEANE, the DGAC’s online system, and an ATPL candidate must first have completed an approved course at an ATO, which recommends you for the exams as in every EASA state (the DGAC’s theory exams page, updated 22 October 2026). The exam fee is paid in OCEANE when you register (its fee page, updated 25 June 2026).
• Where, when and in what language. The same page sends ATPL candidates to the DGAC’s pilots’ portal (Portail PN) for the exam arrangements, and cites a ministerial order of 20 November 2025 setting the 2026 calendar of the professional aircrew theory exams. The DGAC’s list of its exam centers, by city, covers the private pilot, balloon, ULM and drone exams; we could not read where the ATPL papers are sat, the ATPL fee or a DGAC page saying in which languages it sets them, so ask your school, which registers its students every year. The questions come from EASA’s European Central Question Bank (the Europe page).
• The language check. A pilot who uses the radio needs a language proficiency endorsement at ICAO Level 4 or above, in English or the language used on the radio (FCL.055, the Europe page); Level 4 is valid for four years, Level 5 for six and Level 6 for life. The DGAC holds these checks in its own centers and approves language proficiency organizations (LPOs) that hold them too. For an English check in a DGAC center you register in OCEANE, choosing “FCL.055 D” (the English of the instrument rating), “FCL.055 IFR” or “FCL.055 VFR”, pay the fee online and print your notice; a check in French is held only in DGAC centers, booked by e-mail, for a fee of EUR 100. An integrated or modular course taught in English that includes the instrument rating counts as the English check of FCL.055(d) at Level 4, and France recognizes English checks passed in another EU or EEA state or in Switzerland (the DGAC’s language check page, updated 5 August 2026, and its fee page). What the airlines ask of your English and your French is in step 6.

4. From license to first job

You leave training with a frozen ATPL or an MPL, either of which can become a full ATPL once you have 1,500 hours in airplanes, 500 of them in multi-pilot operations and up to 100 of them in simulators, and pass the ATPL skill test (FCL.510.A and FCL.520.A, in EASA’s online rules, read on 24 October 2026; step 4 of the Europe page). Airlines hire long before that. Where the doors were at the last check:

• Air France publishes no minimum of total hours for its direct-entry “Pilote professionnel” stream, and its FAQ says you can apply with less than 500 hours (checked 21 October 2026).
• It asks for an ATPL, or a commercial license with a multi-engine instrument rating and the ATPL theory from an ATO certified by an EU state, a Class 1, an MCC certificate and, since 20 December 2019, an Advanced UPRT certificate and 70 hours in command for a pilot without a first CS-25 type rating (checked 21 October 2026).
• Air France provides the type rating and publishes no bond or training cost for the direct-entry stream, and its new First Officers start on the medium-haul network, then move to long-haul before command (checked 21 October 2026).
• Its selection is valid for Air France and Transavia only, not for HOP!, which runs its own pilot selection, and it assigns you to Air France or Transavia, and to an aircraft type, by company needs, on a single seniority list (checked 21 October 2026).
• Transavia France, which flew 68 Boeing 737s and 31 A320neos in September 2026, with A321neos to come from March 2027, takes its First Officers through that same selection (checked 28 October 2026).
• Transavia France said in its press release of 16 May 2024 that it relied on Air France’s recruitment channel for 150 pilots that year, and we found no later figure (checked 28 October 2026).
• easyJet names France among its base countries but publishes no base airports, and on 25 August 2026 it was recruiting Captains only, at London Gatwick and in Marrakesh, with no First Officer or cadet vacancy, which was still the case on 12 October 2026 (checked 12 October 2026).
• Vueling, the Spanish airline, is listed at Paris-Orly by third-party base lists, while its own site confirms only Barcelona; it had no pilot vacancy on 25 August 2026 and no newer call on 12 October 2026, and its First Officers need a Spanish EASA license before the operator conversion course (checked 12 October 2026).

The low-hour pilot jobs page lists every airline on our board with a First or Second Officer entry at 500 hours or less, and the non-type-rated First Officer jobs page who trains you on type, in France and beyond.

5. The airlines with French bases, and what they ask

The four airlines our jobs board lists with a base in France, each as it stood at the date in the last column; one of them had the First Officer seat open, recruiting or holding a pool. Air France, whose vacancy is at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle; Transavia, listed under the Netherlands and France, at Paris-Orly, Lyon, Nantes and Montpellier for Transavia France; easyJet, listed under the United Kingdom, names France among its base countries but not the airports; Vueling, listed under Spain, at Paris-Orly by third-party base lists that its own site does not confirm. Air France’s direct-entry vacancy, “Pilote de ligne F/H” at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle with a desired start of 1 January 2027, was open on 25 August 2026 and still listed on its recruitment portal on 21 October 2026, with no closing date shown (checked 21 October 2026); Transavia’s record found the same vacancy still listed on 28 October 2026 (checked 28 October 2026). Other French airlines, Air Austral among them, are not on our board, so read their own careers pages. The Air France, Transavia, easyJet and Vueling requirements pages set out each one’s terms line by line, and the Air France interview guide covers its selection.

6. Right to work, French, license transfers and the Air Force

The right to work comes first. Three of the four airlines with a French base on our jobs board ask for a nationality or a right to work you must already hold, or say they sponsor no visa; for the other one it is not published. Air France asks for the nationality of an EEA state or of Switzerland and publishes no visa sponsorship, and Transavia France asks the same through Air France’s selection (checked 21 October 2026); easyJet’s cadet page asks for an unrestricted right to live and work in the UK, the EU or Switzerland (checked 12 October 2026); Vueling publishes no nationality or visa statement, its gate being the Spanish license it asks for before the conversion course (checked 12 October 2026). The visa sponsorship page lists the airlines that sponsor one, worldwide.

French and English. The license needs a language endorsement at ICAO Level 4 or above (step 3). Air France asks every pilot to express themselves fluently in French, and a pilot whose native language is not French to hold FCL.055 Level 6 in French; your CV and cover letter must be in French (checked 21 October 2026); Transavia France asks the same through Air France’s selection (checked 28 October 2026). For English, Air France asks its direct-entry pilots for a TOEIC Listening and Reading score of at least 850, less than two years old at selection, and an FCL.055 Level 5 or above, while its cadets take an English test within PSY0 instead of the TOEIC; easyJet asks for ICAO Level 4 at least; Vueling for Level 4 or higher before the conversion course. Two of the four airlines with a French base on our board name French among their language requirements, so if French is not your first language, the Air France group’s route needs it at Level 6 before you apply.

Which state issues your license. Air France asks for the ATPL theory from an ATO certified by an EU state, so the theory can be passed in any EASA country; Vueling asks for a license issued by Spain before its operator conversion course. A license and a Class 1 from another EASA state are valid in France without conversion (step 6 of the Europe page); to move your license file to the DGAC, ask its licensing service, since we found no DGAC page on the change of competent authority in search results on 29 October 2026. A license from outside the EASA system is converted under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/723, through the authority of the state where you live or want to work (EASA’s licensing FAQ), which in France is the DGAC; converting for airline work usually means an EASA medical, the EASA theory exams and a skill test. A UK license has counted as a third-country license since 1 January 2021 (EASA’s Brexit FAQ, step 6 of the Europe page). FAA vs EASA covers the FAA conversion in both directions.

The military route runs through the Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace, the French Air and Space Force. As France Travail’s and the CIDJ’s career pages and a leaflet of the École de l’air et de l’espace describe it (read on 30 October 2026), its contract officers in aircrew, pilots or navigators (officiers sous contrat, OSC PN), must be French nationals with at least the baccalauréat who meet the medical and physical standards, pass psychotechnical tests, an English test, sports tests, a medical and an interview, and are under 27 when they sign. Their military, English, theory and initial flight training is at the École de l’air et de l’espace at Salon-de-Provence, the officer course in its short-career training squadron (EFCC), then specialized flying training on fighters, transport aircraft or helicopters at other Air Force sites, and the first contract runs for 10 years, renewable up to 20 years of service. Read the current terms on devenir-aviateur.fr, the Air and Space Force’s recruiting site, or ask a CIRFA recruiting office, before you plan around them. Military flying is credited toward a Part-FCL license under Article 10 of the Aircrew Regulation, on a credit report by the authority of the state where the pilot served (EASA’s licensing FAQ); Air France sends holders of a military airplane pilot license, transport or fighter, to its “Pilote professionnel” stream rather than its cadet program.

7. Money and time

Funding in France. The routes that cost you least are the selective ones: ENAC’s EPL course, whose technical costs ENAC pays, and the Air France Cadet program, which Air France funds and which pays its cadets a share of the minimum wage while they train (step 2). On a private course you pay the school yourself; we found no state loan or grant for pilot training in search results on 29 October 2026, so ask the school which bank loans its students use and on what terms.

Ask every school what its price includes: the theory and flying phases, the MCC or airline pilot standards MCC, the upset training course, the DGAC’s exam and license fees, the Class 1, accommodation and the type rating, and what happens to the money you have paid if you, or the school, stop. On a cadet route, ask too who pays, what you owe if you leave or fail, and on what terms a job follows.

Common questions

How long does it take to become an airline pilot in France? As long as your course, plus the airline selection: ENAC’s EPL course takes about 24 months, Onisep lists 18 months for Aéropyrénées’ course and two years for Mermoz Academy’s; Air France’s Cadet program takes 2 to 2.5 years on its pilot page and 24 months in its FAQ. The ATPL theory must be passed within 18 months, counted from the end of the month of your first attempt (FCL.025), and the frozen license becomes a full ATPL once you have 1,500 hours, 500 of them multi-pilot, and pass the ATPL skill test (FCL.510.A and FCL.520.A); airlines hire before that.

How much does pilot training cost in France? At a private school, about EUR 100,000 to 120,000 in 2026: Onisep lists EUR 99,500 for Aéropyrénées’ 18-month course at Perpignan and EUR 119,700 for Mermoz Academy’s two-year course at Tours (as search results showed its pages on 29 and 30 October 2026). ENAC pays the technical costs of the EPL pilots it selects, who paid a tuition fee of EUR 1,500 a year in 2026 and their own accommodation and meals, and Air France funds its cadets. Ask what a price includes and who pays for the type rating.

Do I need to speak French to become a pilot in France? Not for the license, which needs a language endorsement at ICAO Level 4 or above, in English or the language used on the radio (FCL.055). For the Air France group, yes: Air France asks every pilot to express themselves fluently in French, and a pilot whose native language is not French to hold FCL.055 Level 6 in French; your CV and cover letter must be in French. easyJet asks for ICAO Level 4 at least; Vueling for Level 4 or higher before the conversion course.

Where do I take the ATPL exams in France? With the DGAC, registered through its online system OCEANE once an approved school has trained and recommended you; the DGAC sends ATPL candidates to its pilots’ portal (Portail PN) for the arrangements, and a ministerial order of 20 November 2025 set the 2026 calendar of the professional aircrew theory exams (its exams page, read on 30 October 2026). We could not read where the ATPL papers are sat or in which languages, so ask your school. All 13 papers must be passed within 18 months, counted from the end of the month of your first attempt, in no more than six sittings and four attempts at any one (FCL.025).

How do I become a pilot with Air France? Through one of its two streams: its direct-entry “Pilote professionnel” stream publishes no minimum of total hours but asks for an ATPL, or a commercial license with a multi-engine instrument rating and the ATPL theory, a Class 1, the MCC, the nationality of an EEA state or Switzerland, fluent French and a TOEIC of at least 850; its Cadet program trains you from the beginning, fully funded, and its 2026 window ran from 15 June to 31 July; both lead through a CV and cover letter in French, the PSY1 tests at ENAC and PSY2 at Roissy. The status at the last check: Air France’s direct-entry vacancy, “Pilote de ligne F/H” at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle with a desired start of 1 January 2027, was open on 25 August 2026 and still listed on its recruitment portal on 21 October 2026, with no closing date shown. Air France’s recruitment portal warns of fraudulent offers from people using its name, so apply only on recrutement.airfrance.com.