Jet2.com Pilot Requirements 2026: Hours, Licence and Hiring Process
Jet2 publishes a door at every rank, and at the last check, on 21 September 2026, it was recruiting through all of them: its own careers site carried a vacancy for permanent non-type-rated pilots, and UK job boards were relaying rated First Officer and Captain recruitment on the A321 and the 737. We saw both in search results rather than on the portal itself. The minimums rise with the seat: 100 hours on multi-engine, multi-crew aircraft for a Second Officer with a frozen ATPL or an MPL; 500 hours on multi-crew jets or turboprops above 10 tonnes for a First Officer; 2,000 factorised hours for a Senior First Officer; and 3,000 hours with 1,000 in command of medium or heavy multi-crew jets for a Captain. Every rank needs a UK-issued licence, ELP Level 5, a UK CAA Class 1 valid for at least six months on your start date and the right to live and work in the UK. Rated and non-rated streams run on both types, and Jet2FlightPath is the cadet programme.
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.
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Is Jet2.com hiring pilots now?
Recruiting at the last check on 21 September 2026 — First Officer seat: Recruiting; Captain seat: Recruiting. Every rank open across its UK bases: Second Officer from 100 h multi-crew, First Officer 500 h on 10 t+ jets/turboprops, Captain 3,000 h with 1,000 h PIC; UK licence, ELP 5
What we found at the last check: Jet2’s “Permanent Non Type-Rated Pilots” vacancy and its pilot application pages were in search results on 21 September 2026, and UK job boards were relaying rated First Officer and Captain recruitment on the A321 and the 737 across its UK bases.
How we checked
Jet2’s own careers site vacancy “Permanent Non Type-Rated Pilots – Various” (jet2careers.com vacancy 6905) and its Pilot Careers / application-routes pages appeared in search results on 21 September 2026, with UK job boards relaying A321 and B737 rated First Officer and Captain recruitment across its UK bases. Not read directly on the portal.
Requirements, as published
| Requirement | As published by the airline |
|---|---|
| Licence | Valid UK-issued licence (frozen or unfrozen ATPL, MPL for Second Officer) |
| Minimum hours | SO 100 h multi-crew · FO 500 h multi-crew on 10 t+ · SFO 2,000 factorised h · Captain 3,000 h with 1,000 h PIC jet |
| Type rating | A321 / B737 rated and non-rated streams |
| Right to work | Right to live and work in the UK |
| Medical | UK CAA Class 1 with at least six months validity at start date |
| English | ELP Level 5 minimum |
Which rank your hours fit
Jet2 sets a minimum for each rank rather than one standard for all. As recorded at the last check:
| Rank | Published minimum |
|---|---|
| Second Officer | 100 h on multi-engine, multi-crew aircraft; a frozen ATPL or an MPL |
| First Officer | 500 h on multi-crew, multi-engine jets or turboprops above 10 t |
| Senior First Officer | 2,000 factorised hours, including 500 h on multi-crew jets or turboprops above 10 t |
| Captain | 3,000 h, with 1,000 h in command of medium or heavy multi-crew jets |
Three words in the table decide most applications. Multi-crew: the Second Officer’s 100 hours and the First Officer’s 500 must be on multi-crew aircraft, so instructing hours on light aircraft count towards neither, however many you have. Jets: a Captain’s 1,000 hours in command must be on medium or heavy multi-crew jets, so turboprop command does not count towards it as written. Factorised: the Senior First Officer figure is weighted by Jet2’s own formula rather than read straight from the logbook, and the factors were not in the material we found, so ask Jet2 how your hours count before ruling yourself in or out.
Every rank needs a valid UK-issued licence: a frozen or unfrozen ATPL, or an MPL for a Second Officer. Every rank also asks for ELP Level 5, so a Level 4 endorsement, the ICAO minimum for a licence, does not meet it.
Entry routes
- Second Officer — 100 h on multi-engine multi-crew aircraft, frozen ATPL or MPL
- First Officer — 500 h multi-crew multi-engine jet or turboprop above 10 t
- Senior First Officer — 2,000 factorised h, 500 h multi-crew jet/turboprop above 10 t
- Captain — 3,000 h with 1,000 h PIC on medium/heavy multi-crew jets
- Jet2FlightPath cadet programme
Jet2 and the other UK airlines
The UK airlines on our jobs board, as recorded at each airline’s last check:
| Airline | Published minimum | Type rating | Status at last check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jet2.com | 100 h SO · 500 h FO · 3,000 h Capt | Rated or non-rated | Recruiting (21 September 2026) |
| easyJet | Capt only: 4,000 h · 500 h on A320 | A320 held, or trained · funding options | Recruiting (12 October 2026) |
| British Airways | 500 h or 100 sectors on type (rated F/O) | Funded (Euroflyer non-rated) | Unconfirmed (12 October 2026) |
| Virgin Atlantic | 1,500 h multi-pilot 10 t+ | Airbus required | Recruiting (21 September 2026) |
| Loganair | Not published | Provided | Recruiting (21 September 2026) |
Jet2FlightPath, Jet2’s cadet programme, is listed as a route of its own; the material we found gave no cost or terms for it, so ask before you commit.
Selection process
- Online application
- Online assessments
- Interview and group exercise
- Simulator assessment
- Medical
Bases and fleet
Bases: Leeds Bradford · Manchester · Stansted · Birmingham · East Midlands · Newcastle · Glasgow · Edinburgh · Belfast · Bristol · Liverpool · London Luton
Fleet: B737-800 · A321neo · B757 (retired)
How to prepare
Jet2 flies the 737-800 and the A321neo, with rated and non-rated streams on both, so start from the type in the vacancy you apply to: the B737 bank for the 737, and the A320 bank for the A321neo, a member of the A320 family. A Second Officer applicant with a frozen ATPL or an MPL and no airline time should make the ATPL theory banks the core of the technical preparation. Jet2 publishes its selection: an online application, online assessments, an interview and group exercise, a simulator assessment and a medical. Practise timed reasoning tests before the online stage, prepare for the group exercise as seriously as for the interview, and check your Class 1 now, because it must still have six months to run on your start date.
For each of the five stages, from the online assessments to the interview and group exercise, read our Jet2 pilot interview guide, and for the simulator stage the Library’s airline simulator assessment. For the 737, the Library covers the hydraulic system and pitch control and stabiliser trim; for the A321neo, the A320 flight control laws and protections. If you are short of the Second Officer minimum, compare low-hour pilot jobs and the cadet programmes. Check Jet2’s entry on the jobs board for the latest status.
What we could not confirm
- Researched on 21 September 2026 from search-engine results of the airline’s own careers pages, job postings and industry job boards — not from a direct read of the portal. Confirm the vacancy is still open before you apply.
- Which bases each rank is open at right now
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 Jet2 hiring pilots? Yes, at the last check, on 21 September 2026. Jet2’s own careers site carried a vacancy for permanent non-type-rated pilots, and UK job boards were relaying rated First Officer and Captain recruitment on the A321 and the 737. We saw these in search results rather than on the portal itself and could not confirm which bases each rank is open at, so check the careers site before you apply.
How many hours do you need to fly for Jet2? It depends on the rank: 100 hours on multi-engine, multi-crew aircraft for a Second Officer; 500 hours on multi-crew, multi-engine jets or turboprops above 10 tonnes for a First Officer; 2,000 factorised hours, including 500 on multi-crew jets or turboprops above 10 tonnes, for a Senior First Officer; and 3,000 hours with 1,000 in command of medium or heavy multi-crew jets for a Captain.
Can I join Jet2 with an EASA licence? Not as the requirements are written. Every rank asks for a valid UK-issued licence, a frozen or unfrozen ATPL or, for a Second Officer, an MPL, together with a UK CAA Class 1 and the right to live and work in the UK.
Does Jet2 take non-type-rated pilots? Yes. Jet2 runs rated and non-rated streams on the A321 and the 737, and at the last check its own careers site carried a vacancy for permanent non-type-rated pilots. The material we found did not say who pays for the rating or whether it is bonded.
What is the Jet2 pilot selection process? Five stages, in this order: online application, online assessments, interview and group exercise, simulator assessment, then the medical, a UK CAA Class 1 valid for six months or more from your start date. Our Jet2 pilot interview guide covers how to prepare for each.
Prepare for the assessment, not just the application
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