Iberia Pilot Requirements 2026: Hours, Licence and Hiring Process

Iberia had no pilot vacancy open when its careers portal was read on 25 August 2026, listing nothing under pilots and showing the last direct-entry vacancy as filled, and a search on 12 October 2026 found no newer call. Its two most recent calls are the guide to the next ones. The direct-entry First Officer call announced on 9 July 2025, based in Madrid, asked for a frozen EASA ATPL(A) with MCC and 500 hours on CS-25 aeroplanes, flying for an operator at the time of application; no type rating was required, and a licence not issued by Spain’s AESA had to be converted within four months of hiring, at the pilot’s own cost. The Iberia Cadetes integrated ATPL with FTEJerez, whose sixth edition closed in early March 2026, is 50% financed by Iberia and repaid from salary once the cadet flies for Iberia. Both calls set a Spanish requirement, level 5 for direct entry and C1 for cadets who are not Spanish, and a height of 157 to 191 cm. No direct-entry Captain route is published.

Is Iberia hiring pilots now?

Not recruiting at the last check on 12 October 2026 — First Officer seat: Not recruiting; Captain seat: Not offered. Nothing open now - and Spanish level 5 is the hard gate whenever a call reopens

Requirements, as published

Reading the last calls line by line

The direct-entry figures come from two trade reports of Iberia’s 9 July 2025 announcement, published the same day; Iberia’s own press pages could not be opened at our last check, so confirm them in the announcement before relying on them. The cadet figures come from the FTEJerez FAQ for the 2026 edition.

• 500 hours on CS-25, and flying now. The hours must be on aeroplanes certified under CS-25 or equivalent, and you must be performing pilot duties for an operator when you apply. Light-aircraft time does not count towards it, and a pilot not currently flying for an operator does not meet it as written.
• A frozen ATPL is enough. The minimum is a frozen EASA Part-FCL ATPL(A) with MCC. An unrestricted ATPL, type ratings, a university degree and aeronautical experience are extras that count in your favour, not requirements.
• Convert to AESA quickly. A licence issued outside Spain must go into conversion straight away and be completed within four months of hiring, at your own cost.
• Spanish at level 5, English at level 4. Iberia writes “nivel 4” and “nivel 5” without naming the scale; they are the levels used by the ICAO and AESA language proficiency scale. For a pilot whose first language is not Spanish, level 5 is the hard gate.
• EU right to work, and paperwork. The right to work in the EU, a passport without restrictions and a criminal record certificate; Iberia offers no visa sponsorship. Education to university entrance level, and a height between 157 and 191 cm.
• The type rating’s terms are not published. Iberia does not say whether it provides, funds or bonds the type rating for a direct-entry First Officer.

The cadet call is stricter on schooling: a completed university degree, with the final-year project approved when the call was published; European nationality or a permanent Spanish work permit; no criminal record; English at B2 and, for non-Spanish candidates, Spanish at C1; no ATPL exams already taken; and the same height range. A cadet who leaves for failing the academic objectives pays 100% of the programme cost, and the job offer at the end depends on passing the A320 type rating course, Iberia’s medical checks and a clean criminal record certificate, and on Iberia having a production need at the time. Applications go only through trabajaconnosotros.iberia.es.

Entry routes

• Direct entry First Officer ('pilotos de nuevo ingreso') - non-type-rated, 500h on CS-25 aeroplanes, base Madrid. Last run announced 09 Jul 2025 with applications reported to close 31 Dec 2025; the vacancy page now shows the position as filled.
• Cadet / ab-initio - 'Iberia Cadetes' integrated ATPL with FTEJerez, 50% of the course cost financed by Iberia and repaid from salary once flying for Iberia. 6th edition opened 23 Feb 2026 and closed in early March 2026. Closed as of 25 Aug 2026.

Iberia and the other Spanish airlines

Iberia Express, Iberia’s lower-cost short-haul operator, also flies the A320 family but is not covered by this page. The other Spanish airlines on our jobs board, as recorded at each airline’s last check:

Selection process

1. Online application via Iberia's own careers portal (trabajaconnosotros.iberia.es) - the only accepted channel
2. Screening / pre-selection against the published requirements
3. Assessment testing, run in a staged manner and in groups; pre-selected candidates are contacted by email with the date, time and venue of the tests
4. Iberia does not publish the individual assessment stages beyond this - see the points we could not confirm

Bases and fleet

Bases: Madrid (Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas) - the only base named in the last direct-entry call

Fleet: A319 · A320ceo · A320neo · A321 · A321XLR · A330-200 · A330-300 · A350

How to prepare

Iberia does not publish its assessment stages beyond saying the tests run in stages and in groups, with pre-selected candidates emailed the date, time and venue, so prepare for the whole of a European flag-carrier selection. New direct-entry First Officers join in Madrid, where Iberia flies its short and medium-haul network with the A320 family, so the A320 bank is the type preparation, and the ATPL theory banks cover the technical interview whatever its format. The language is part of the preparation: Spanish at level 5 is a published condition, so rehearse your technical and competency answers in Spanish as well as English. Cadets also need a completed university degree and must not have sat the ATPL exams already.

Our Iberia pilot interview guide covers the commonly reported stages, the simulator, the A320 and ATPL questions to expect, and an interview that may switch to Spanish. For the systems, see the top 50 A320 interview questions; for the career that follows, the Library explains ranks, seniority and scheduling. Check Iberia’s entry on the jobs board for the latest status.

What we could not confirm

• Iberia's own press-release pages (grupo.iberia.es and grupo.iberia.com) returned HTTP 403 to automated retrieval on 25 Aug 2026, so the direct-entry figures above could NOT be read off an Iberia-owned page during this check. They rest on two independent trade reports dated the same day as the press release. A pilot relying on them should open the Iberia press release in a normal browser to confirm.
• The exact closing date of the July 2025 direct-entry call. Two independent trade reports dated 09 Jul 2025 both state 31 December 2025, and that is what is recorded above; it could not be confirmed on a live Iberia page because the vacancy now only shows as filled.
• The exact closing date of the 6th cadet call. Reports differ between 6 March 2026 and 8 March 2026; neither could be confirmed on an Iberia page. What is confirmed is that the call is closed.
• Whether the Iberia cadet loan is genuinely interest-free. Earlier wording here said 'interest-free'; the FTEJerez FAQ describes a 50% loan repaid by payroll deduction but the interest terms were not confirmed in the material read. Treat as unknown.
• The fleet list above. Iberia's own fleet page returned HTTP 403 on 25 Aug 2026 and could not be re-verified. In particular, the A321neo is reported by third parties as operated by Iberia Express rather than Iberia mainline, and the mainline/Iberia Express split of A320ceo and A321neo could not be confirmed on an Iberia page. The fleet list is indicative only and is not an eligibility criterion.
• The detailed selection stages. Iberia publishes only that the process is staged and in groups and that pre-selected candidates are emailed test details. Aggregator sites describe a four-stage process (online application, selection tests, simulator and interview, training) and describe psychometric testing, group exercises, a simulator assessment and an HR/technical interview - none of this is confirmed on any Iberia page and it is NOT reported here as fact.
• Whether Iberia provides, funds or bonds the type rating for direct-entry First Officers. Not published anywhere on Iberia's own site.
• Any age limit, upper or lower, on either route. Iberia publishes none and the FTEJerez cadet FAQ states none. Do not assume one exists.

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 Iberia hiring pilots? Not at the last check, on 12 October 2026, when a search found no newer call. On 25 August 2026 Iberia’s careers portal showed no vacancy in the pilot category, a search for cadet vacancies returned nothing, and the last direct-entry vacancy page said the position had been filled. Iberia takes applications only through its careers portal, trabajaconnosotros.iberia.es.

How many hours do you need to fly for Iberia? The last direct-entry call asked for 500 flight hours on aeroplanes certified under CS-25 or equivalent, and for the applicant to be performing pilot duties for an operator when applying. It is not a 500-hour total-time figure. The Iberia Cadetes route needs no flying hours, and cadet candidates must not have sat the ATPL exams.

Do you need to speak Spanish to fly for Iberia? Yes. The last direct-entry call asked for a language proficiency certificate showing Spanish at level 5 and English at level 4, and the 2026 cadet call asked non-Spanish candidates for Spanish at C1, with English at B2. For a pilot whose first language is not Spanish, the Spanish requirement is the hard gate.

How does the Iberia Cadetes programme work? It is an integrated ATPL course with FTEJerez. Iberia finances 50% of the course cost, repaid by payroll deduction once the cadet starts work at Iberia; a cadet who leaves for failing the academic objectives pays 100% of the cost. The job offer at the end depends on passing the A320 type rating course, Iberia’s medical checks and a criminal record check, and on Iberia having a production need. The sixth edition opened on 23 February 2026 and closed in early March.

Does Iberia provide the type rating? Iberia does not say. No type rating is required to apply, and ratings appear only among the extras that count in a candidate’s favour; whether Iberia provides, funds or bonds the rating for a direct-entry First Officer is not published.