How to Become an Airline Pilot in Ireland: License, Cost and Airlines
Ireland licenses its pilots through the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), under the EASA rules every member state shares: a Class 1 medical first, then an integrated course, the modular route or an airline cadet scheme, to a commercial license with an instrument rating and the 13 ATPL exams passed, the “frozen ATPL” the Irish airlines hire on. Two Irish schools’ published prices put an integrated course at about EUR 85,000 to 90,000 in 2026: the National Flight Centre in Dublin EUR 83,500, completed in 20 months, and Atlantic Flight Training Academy in Cork EUR 89,000, over 18 to 24 months. The route every EASA state shares, hour by hour, is on our Europe page; this one is about what is Irish: the IAA, the medical and exam centers, the degrees and cadet schemes, the Irish airlines’ own rules, the Air Corps and the funding.
1. The Class 1 medical, at an Irish center
Get the Class 1 medical before you pay for any training. In Ireland the IAA’s Aeromedical Section is responsible for the first issue of Class 1 certificates and reviews any limitation, suspension or refusal; the examination itself is done at an aero-medical center (AeMC), as every first Class 1 in the EASA system is, and the IAA’s licensing FAQ counts two such centers in Ireland, both in Dublin. The Mater Private’s aeromedical center, now at Mater Private Northern Cross on the Malahide Road in Dublin 17, says it has been a designated aero-medical center for applicants for an IAA license since 2000; it says most applicants get their certificate on the day, while about one case in three is deferred to the IAA for further reports, which can take from a few days to many weeks, so it advises taking the medical early (its aeromedical page, read on 20 October 2026). Ask the IAA for its current list before you book, and bring your passport and any glasses or lenses you wear. If you are refused a certificate or given a limitation, you can ask for a primary review by an IAA medical officer and then, if the decision stands, a secondary review by the independent Civil Aviation Medical Review Board (the IAA’s medical review arrangements).
Where your medical records sit decides who issues your license. The IAA’s licensing FAQ says the location of your medical records dictates the state you must apply to for license issue, so a first Class 1 taken in Ireland points your license application to the IAA; if you have held an EASA medical issued by another state, your records are held there, and you either apply to that state or have them transferred to Ireland. The certificate lasts 12 months, and 6 from the age of 60, or from 40 in single-pilot commercial air transport with passengers, as everywhere in the EASA system (step 1 of the Europe page).
The Irish airlines check it: Ryanair wants a valid EU Part-MED Class 1 on every route it publishes, cadets included (checked 12 October 2026); Aer Lingus asked its Future Pilot Programme applicants to be able to obtain an EASA or IAA Class 1, color vision test included, and pointed them to the IAA for the eyesight and color vision limits (checked 12 October 2026). The medical certification article explains the classes and the examination.
2. Schools, degrees and cadet schemes
The routes are EASA’s: an integrated course at an approved training organization (ATO), the modular route taken stage by stage, or an MPL run for an airline, each to a commercial license with a multi-engine instrument rating and the ATPL theory, or an MPL; step 2 of the Europe page sets out the hours each one takes. In Ireland they lead through these doors:
- Integrated schools. The National Flight Centre (NFC) runs its integrated ATPL course in Dublin, completed in 20 months, which needs no previous flying experience and takes students who are at least 18 when the course starts, hold an EASA Class 1, have the right to live and study in the EU and score IELTS 6.5 or higher in English (its course page, read on 18 October 2026). Atlantic Flight Training Academy (AFTA), in Cork, runs an integrated course of 18 to 24 months, the APS MCC included, and mentored programs with partner operators, among them a VistaJet program that adds about four months of flight instructor training (AFTA’s pages, read on 20 October 2026).
- Degrees with flight training. Three Irish universities pair a degree with the frozen ATPL. Dublin City University’s four-year BSc in Aviation Management (CAO code DC117) lets students choose integrated flight training in the final year at an approved school, the National Flight Centre in Dublin, AFTA in Cork and FTEJerez in Spain among those it names, once they pass the school’s own selection; DCU estimates the cost of qualifying as a commercial pilot at around EUR 75,000 to 100,000, on top of the degree (its course page, read on 20 October 2026). Munster Technological University’s BSc in Global Business and Pilot Studies puts two years of flight training at AFTA inside a four-year degree, and warns that the flying is a substantial cost that government student supports do not cover. South East Technological University (SETU) and FTEJerez award a BSc in Pilot Studies after two intensive semesters at SETU, open to FTEJerez students and pilots of its partner airlines, and to other frozen-ATPL holders with both institutions’ approval (MTU’s and FTEJerez’s pages, read on 20 October 2026).
- Airline cadet schemes. Aer Lingus’ Future Pilot Programme, fully sponsored and leading to an MPL, funds the training, accommodation and food in full and is bonded, but was closed to applications (checked 12 October 2026); its last intake asked for the Leaving Certificate in six subjects or an equivalent, with English and Math and two higher-level subjects at H5 or better, and turned away anyone who already holds a CPL, MPL or ATPL as overqualified (checked 12 October 2026); Ryanair’s Future Flyer Academy is part-sponsored training entered at one of three gateways, from no flying experience, a private license with 100 hours in command, or a frozen ATPL, and you apply through Ryanair’s approved partner schools, not to Ryanair (checked 12 October 2026); Ryanair publishes neither the academy’s price nor how much of it is sponsored: those are among the points we could not confirm (checked 12 October 2026). Ryanair launched the academy with AFTA on 15 April 2024, saying it would train and recruit more than 400 pilots in Ireland over four years, who would join the group as Second Officers (Ryanair’s announcement).
Before your first multi-pilot type rating you also need a multi-crew cooperation (MCC) course. Both Irish courses priced in step 7 include the longer airline pilot standards version, the APS MCC. Ryanair asks its cadets for the APS MCC, no longer accepting a standard MCC certificate, the advanced upset prevention and recovery training certificate of FCL.745.A, and a school report signed by the head of training with every ATPL result, repeats included (checked 12 October 2026). Ask every school which one its price includes. The MCC courses article explains both, and the cadet programs page compares who pays on each airline scheme.
3. The ATPL exams at the IAA
The 13 ATPL papers, the 75% pass mark and the time limits (all papers within 18 months, in no more than six sittings and four attempts at any one) are EASA’s, set out in step 3 of the Europe page and in our ATPL exams guide. What is Irish is how you sit them:
- Where and when. The IAA holds its ATPL, CPL and instrument rating exams at set sittings in Dublin and Cork, in English only, each with a closing date for applications two weeks before it. Its 2026 timetable has seven Dublin sittings, from 23 to 26 February to 14 to 17 December, and six in Cork, from 4 to 6 March to 16 to 18 December; the December sittings close on 30 November (Dublin) and 2 December (Cork), and the 2027 timetable is already published. The IAA may extend or reduce the dates, and a closing date holds only while places remain. The exams run at set times on PEXO, the online examination system (the IAA’s examination dates page and examinations FAQ, read on 20 October 2026).
- How long a pass lasts. A pass in the ATPL papers counts toward the CPL and the instrument rating for 36 months; once both are issued within that time, it counts toward the ATPL for seven years from the most recent validity date of the instrument rating entered in your license (the IAA’s examinations FAQ).
- Your school signs you in. The IAA does not accept a first exam application until the ATO that taught your theory course has completed its section of the form, certifying the course (the IAA’s CPL examination application form, issue of 3 October 2025).
- Fees. The IAA publishes its exam and license fees in its Schedule of Charges, which its examinations FAQ points to; check the current one before you budget.
- English. Your license needs an English language proficiency endorsement at ICAO Level 4 or above. In Ireland it is assessed during license skill tests and proficiency checks, by examiners the IAA authorizes as English language assessors, and it does not accept the English endorsement on a license from outside the EASA system (the IAA’s English language assessment page, read on 20 October 2026). Aer Lingus asked direct-entry pilots for Level 5 (checked 12 October 2026); Ryanair asks for Level 4, written as well as spoken (checked 12 October 2026).
4. From license to first job
You leave training with a frozen ATPL or an MPL, either of which becomes a full ATPL at 21 with 1,500 hours, 500 of them multi-pilot (FCL.510.A, step 4 of the Europe page). The Irish airlines hire long before that. Where the doors were at the last check:
- Ryanair takes cadets on its AFA 737 cadet programs, the European one with a self-sponsored type rating (checked 12 October 2026); its non-rated experienced First Officers need 700 hours, 500 of them as First Officer on multi-crew, multi-engine aircraft in commercial air transport, and instructing hours do not count (checked 12 October 2026); its experienced 737 vacancies are advertised under Buzz, for bases in Poland and Lithuania, rather than Ryanair DAC (checked 12 October 2026); its online assessment costs EUR 60, not refunded on the 737 and cadet routes, and the selection days are held in Dublin or at its other training centers (checked 12 October 2026).
- Aer Lingus’ last direct-entry campaign asked for an EASA ATPL or frozen ATPL and an Airbus type rating, with no hours minimum published; whether a non-rated pilot may apply is among the points we could not confirm, because the same page publishes a starting package for non-rated pilots (checked 12 October 2026); it bonds its conversion course, the amount falling the longer you stay, and published starting pay of about EUR 87,500 for an Airbus-rated pilot and EUR 63,500 for a non-rated one, variable flying pay included (checked 12 October 2026); the flying is ex Dublin on the A320 family, with the A330 later by seniority (checked 12 October 2026).
- Instructing is how many pilots not hired straight from training build hours meanwhile, and AFTA builds it into its VistaJet program: if no VistaJet type rating is available once you reach 700 hours, AFTA and VistaJet say they aim to keep you employed as an AFTA instructor or in VistaJet operations support until a place comes up, and the VistaJet rating costs nothing but is bonded for three years (AFTA’s page, read on 20 October 2026). Instructing builds total time, not the multi-crew hours some airlines count, as Ryanair’s rule above shows.
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 Ireland and beyond.
5. The Irish airlines, and what they ask
The two airlines on our jobs board based in Ireland, each as it stood at the date in the last column. Ryanair’s own portal had nine pilot and cadet vacancies open on 25 August 2026, and on 12 October 2026 a Buzz posting for non-rated 737 First Officers was still on its jobs site (checked 12 October 2026); Aer Lingus had both its pilot routes closed, the direct-entry program and the Future Pilot Programme, with no reopening date or candidate pool published (checked 12 October 2026). Ryanair hires on an EASA Part-FCL license for every role, and a cadet with a UK license alone is restricted to the Ryanair UK fleet (checked 12 October 2026). Other airlines based in Ireland are not on our board, so read their own careers pages. Gulf airlines recruit in Ireland too: Emirates’ 2026 roadshow had September sessions in Ireland, as afm.aero reported (checked 12 October 2026); the pilot jobs in the UAE page sets out what the Gulf airlines ask. Each airline’s page sets out its requirements line by line, and the interview guides for Ryanair and Aer Lingus cover their selections.
Always confirm on the airline’s own careers page before applying. Every figure here is what the airline published at the date shown against it on our jobs board; entries marked Unconfirmed are ones whose requirements we found but whose current vacancy status we could not establish from the airline’s own pages. Vacancies open and close without notice.
| Airline | Published minimum | F/O seat | Captain seat | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryanair Group Recruiting | 70–100 h PIC cadet · 700 h FO · 3,500 h Capt | Recruiting | Recruiting | 12 October 2026 |
| Aer Lingus Not recruiting | Not published | Not recruiting | Not offered | 12 October 2026 |
6. Right to work, and converting a foreign license
The right to work comes first. Neither Irish airline on our jobs board sponsors a visa: both ask for a right to work you must already hold. Ryanair asks for the unrestricted right to live and work in the EU for its experienced roles, and says its UK cadet program offers no visa sponsorship (checked 12 October 2026); Aer Lingus for the right to live and work permanently in the EU or Ireland and a valid unrestricted worldwide passport, with a police certificate from your home country if you are not Irish (checked 12 October 2026). The schools ask too: NFC, for one, wants the right to live and study in the EU. The visa sponsorship page lists the airlines that sponsor one, worldwide.
An Irish license inside the EASA system is valid in every member state without conversion, though some airlines want their own authority’s license (step 6 of the Europe page).
A license from outside the EASA system cannot simply be exchanged. The IAA says there is no automatic conversion of an ICAO Annex 1 CPL to a Part-FCL CPL, though training credits can be given, and that anyone converting a third-country license must pass the full set of Part-FCL theory exams for the license level; the conditions are in Article 3 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/723, which amended the Aircrew Regulation. You need a valid Part-MED Class 1, the authority that holds your medical records is the one you apply to, and the IAA does not accept the English endorsement on an ICAO license (the IAA’s FAQs on ICAO third-country licenses, read on 20 October 2026). If you have ever held a license in another EASA state, the IAA sends you to the authority that issued it. A UK license has counted as a third-country license since 1 January 2021. FAA vs EASA covers the FAA conversion in both directions.
The military route. The Irish Air Corps trains its own pilots through an annual pilot cadetship. Its 2026 competition, which closed on 8 March 2026, took applicants aged 18 to under 39 on that date, Irish citizens or others with a lawful right to live and work in the State for the cadet training and any appointment that follows. Cadets are paid from EUR 26,248 a year, with accommodation and meals without charge, and Air Corps flying pay runs from EUR 1,596 a year for a trainee pilot to EUR 21,329 after 12 years’ service (the Defence Forces’ 2026 terms, rates from 1 February 2026, read on 20 October 2026). 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.
7. Money and time
| Stage | Approximate cost | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 medical, initial, at an AeMC | EUR 750 at the Mater Private, by its aeromedical page; MTU’s course page gives the same figure (both read on 20 October 2026) | Before you commit to training |
| Integrated course, zero to frozen ATPL | About EUR 85,000–90,000 on two Irish schools’ published prices: the National Flight Centre, Dublin, EUR 83,500 for European students, paid in installments, the APS MCC included (read on 18 October 2026); AFTA, Cork, EUR 89,000 with the APS MCC, not counting the type rating, the exam and license fees or accommodation, which AFTA puts at about EUR 700 to 1,000 a month (read on 20 October 2026). AFTA’s VistaJet mentored program costs EUR 99,250, in four installments, and adds about four months of flight instructor training and a bonded VistaJet type rating at no cost | 20 months at NFC; 18 to 24 months at AFTA |
| Degree with flight training | The degree’s own fees, and the flying on top: DCU estimates around EUR 75,000–100,000 to qualify as a commercial pilot; MTU lists EUR 89,000 payable to AFTA for the flying in years 2 and 3 (2026 fees), and says government student supports do not cover it | Four years |
| Airline cadet course | Aer Lingus’ Future Pilot Programme funded its cadets’ training in full, and bonded it, but was closed at the last check; Ryanair’s Future Flyer Academy is part-sponsored, and Ryanair leaves the prices to its partner schools | Set by each course |
| IAA exam and license fees | In the IAA’s Schedule of Charges | During training |
| Type rating | Varies: bonded at Aer Lingus; paid by the cadet on Ryanair’s European cadet program (step 4) | In the airline’s training, after selection |
| Frozen ATPL to full ATPL | Paid: you are flying for an airline | Until 1,500 hours, 500 of them multi-pilot |
Check what each price includes. NFC’s, by its course page, covers 230 hours of flight and simulator training, the 750 hours of classroom theory, the APS MCC course, briefings, charts, your equipment and uniform, and the aircraft for the flight tests; it asks you to hold the Class 1 before the course. Ask every school about exam fees, accommodation and the type rating, and what happens to the money you have paid if you, or the school, stop.
Funding. AFTA announced on 7 August 2026 that two credit unions, Clonmel and Elevate, had signed a memorandum of understanding with it toward a pilot training finance scheme; AFTA’s finance page describes loans of up to EUR 110,000 toward training with AFTA, at an indicative 6.5% interest, after EUR 22,000 of your own money, for Irish nationals only, and says the scheme opens for applications in 2027 (read on 20 October 2026). The Air Corps pays its cadets from the start (step 6).
Common questions
How long does it take to become an airline pilot in Ireland? About 20 months to a frozen ATPL on the National Flight Centre’s full-time integrated course in Dublin, by its own page; AFTA’s integrated course in Cork runs 18 to 24 months, and a degree route takes four years. The license becomes a full ATPL at 21 with 1,500 hours, 500 of them multi-pilot, and the Irish airlines hire before that, on the frozen license.
How much does pilot training cost in Ireland? About EUR 85,000 to 90,000 for an integrated course, on two Irish schools’ 2026 prices: the National Flight Centre EUR 83,500 and AFTA EUR 89,000, neither including the type rating; AFTA’s VistaJet program, with a flight instructor rating, costs EUR 99,250. DCU estimates EUR 75,000 to 100,000 to qualify alongside its degree. Aer Lingus’ Future Pilot Programme funded its cadets’ training in full, and bonded it, but was closed at the last check. Ask what each price includes, and who pays for the type rating.
Where do I sit the ATPL exams in Ireland? At the IAA’s sittings in Dublin and Cork, in English, on set dates with a closing date for applications two weeks before each, on the IAA’s online examination system. The ATO that taught your theory course must certify it on your first application, and all 13 papers must be passed within 18 months, counted from the end of the month of your first attempt.
Do I need to be an EU citizen to fly for Ryanair or Aer Lingus? Not citizenship as such, but a right to work you already hold: Ryanair asks for the unrestricted right to live and work in the EU for its experienced roles; Aer Lingus for the right to live and work permanently in the EU or Ireland. Neither says it sponsors a visa, so train where you already have the right to work, or where the airlines you want to fly for hire from.
Can I become a pilot in the Irish Air Corps? Yes, through its annual pilot cadetship: the 2026 competition closed on 8 March 2026 and took applicants aged 18 to under 39, Irish citizens or others with a lawful right to live and work in the State. Air Corps flying pay starts at EUR 1,596 a year for a trainee pilot. Military flying experience can be credited toward an EASA license.
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