KLM Pilot Requirements 2026: Hours, Licence and Hiring Process
KLM publishes two ways into its cockpits: the KLM Flight Academy for cadets, and a standing direct-entry vacancy for experienced pilots that asks for an EASA (frozen) ATPL with a valid multi-pilot type rating, 500 hours on multi-engine aeroplanes of 5,700 kg or more and 150 commercial hours in the last 12 months (EU military experience is accepted instead), plus ME/IR, MCC, Advanced UPRT, PBN, English at LPE 6 and a Class 1. Licence and medical must be Dutch-issued, or converted at your own cost, before you start. The Dutch-language vacancy wants Dutch at B2 before selection; KLM also advertises an English-language “Experienced Pilot” vacancy for EU passport holders who learn Dutch after joining. KLM decides your seat (Second Officer on a wide-body or First Officer in Europe) and your type. There is no external Captain route.
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.
- Is KLM hiring pilots now?
- Requirements, as published
- Reading the requirements line by line
- Entry routes
- KLM Flight Academy: cost, repayment and eligibility
- KLM against the other Dutch and Air France-KLM routes
- Selection process
- Bases and fleet
- Fleet changes that decide where new pilots fly
- How to prepare
- What we could not confirm
- Common questions
Is KLM hiring pilots now?
Recruiting at the last check on 25 August 2026 — First Officer seat: Recruiting; Captain seat: Not offered. Dutch at CEFR B2 before selection; Dutch-issued licence and medical at own cost
What the airline’s own material showed: Verified in-browser on 25 August 2026 against KLM's own careers site. Two cockpit vacancies were live and accepting applications ('Solliciteer nu'): the evergreen 'Verkeersvlieger - Piloot' direct entry role (job ID 16494; JobPosting datePosted 25-04-2024, no validThrough; the page states in terms that the vacancy is open with no closing date and KLM reserves the right to close it at any moment; body text is current, referencing KLM's 2026 network of 161 destinations) and 'First Officer B747 Full Freighter' for Martinair Cargo (job ID 20850; JobPosting datePosted 24-06-2026; the page displayed 'Deze vacature sluit over 6 dagen', i.e. closing on or about 31 August 2026). A keyword search of the live jobs list returned no other flying vacancies. The KLM Flight Academy cadet route is separately open: applications for school year 2026/2027 run 01-01-2026 to 01-04-2027, with 80 students trained in 2026 across four classes. SHELF LIFE: the Martinair vacancy closes around 31 August 2026, after which only the evergreen direct entry vacancy and the cadet route remain open; re-check before relying on this record after that date.
Requirements, as published
| Requirement | As published by the airline |
|---|---|
| Licence | EASA (Frozen) ATPL(A) held together with a valid Type Rating on a Multi-Pilot Aircraft. Also required: valid ME IR(A), completed Multi Crew Cooperation (MCC) course, Initial CRM, Advanced UPRT (Upset Prevention and Recovery Training) and a PBN endorsement. For the Martinair B747F role, additionally a Radiotelephony (RT) licence. Both the Flight Crew Licence and the medical must be issued in the Netherlands, or converted to Dutch issue, before employment can start — KLM states in terms that the costs of converting a foreign licence and medical are at the candidate's own expense. |
| Minimum hours | Direct entry pilot: at least 500 hours flown on a multi-engine aircraft of MTOW 5,700 kg or more, OR experience as a military pilot in the EU; and at least 150 of those hours flown in commercial aviation in the 12 months before applying, OR being in active service as a military pilot in the EU at the time of application. (KLM words the two military alternatives slightly differently: military experience substitutes for the 500 hours, while ACTIVE service substitutes for the 150 recent hours.) Martinair B747-400F First Officer: at least 1,000 hours on a multi-engine aeroplane MTOW over 5,700 kg — hours flown as cruise relief co-pilot do not count — OR military pilot experience; at least 100 hours PIC; and at least 150 hours in commercial aviation in the 12 months before applying, OR military pilot experience. |
| Hours on type | Not published. KLM requires a valid Multi-Pilot Aircraft type rating (any MPA type) but publishes no minimum hours on type. Per the pilot FAQ the type rating must be valid on the day employment starts; the Martinair vacancy additionally requires the type rating and medical to be valid for at least three months at the date of commencement. |
| Type rating | Required to apply — you must already hold a valid Multi-Pilot Aircraft type rating. After successful selection KLM invites you to its own Type Rating Course (TRC) on whichever KLM fleet type has training capacity; the page states explicitly 'there is no choice in this'. KLM does not publish whether this TRC carries a training bond. For the KLM Flight Academy cadet route, training is financed by KLM: the 2026 total training cost is set at EUR 163,500, repaid either in one payment or deducted from gross salary over 10 years, set for 2026 at EUR 861 per month and indexed annually; cadets receive EUR 700 gross per month training allowance, and KLM absorbs the costs incurred if the student cannot complete the course due to unforeseen circumstances. |
| Right to work | The English cockpit page states: 'Valid passport from an EU member state, including Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein'. The Dutch-language vacancies state only 'Geldig paspoort van een EU-lidstaat' (a valid passport of an EU member state). KLM does not reconcile the two, so non-EU EEA and Swiss candidates should confirm with klm.pilot.recruitment@klm.com before applying. KLM offers relocation assistance and initial housing for pilots moving to the Netherlands. |
| Medical | EASA Class 1 Medical. The Martinair B747F vacancy specifies Class 1 unrestricted. The medical must be valid for at least three months at the date employment commences, and must be issued in or converted to the Netherlands. |
| English | LPE 6 (English Language Proficiency Level 6). Note this is above the ICAO Level 4 minimum accepted by many airlines. A minimum HAVO diploma including English, or an MBO-4 diploma, or an equivalent foreign qualification, is also required (the Martinair vacancy specifies HAVO or MBO-4 technical, including English and mathematics). |
| Age | Direct entry: NO minimum or maximum age is published by KLM. The pilot FAQ states the retirement age is 58, with part-time working able to postpone the retirement date to at most 62 — that is a pension rule, not a recruitment age limit, and should not be read as one. KLM Flight Academy cadet route: minimum 17 years at the start of training, and a published 'maximum advisory age' (maximum adviesleeftijd) of 27.5 years — note KLMFA words this as advisory, not as a hard cut-off. |
| Also | Two things disqualify most non-Dutch applicants regardless of flying experience: the mandatory Dutch language requirement at CEFR B2 (certificate needed BEFORE selection, not after) and the requirement to hold, or convert to, a Dutch-issued licence and Class 1 medical at the candidate's own cost. The English proficiency bar is LPE 6, not the more common Level 4. Note also that a valid Multi-Pilot Aircraft type rating is a prerequisite to APPLY, even though KLM then puts you through its own Type Rating Course on a type of its choosing — so the direct entry route is not open to pilots holding only a frozen ATPL with no MPA type rating. The 500-hour figure applies to the mainline pilot vacancy; the Martinair B747-400F freighter role requires 1,000 hours plus 100 hours PIC. KLM's pilot FAQ states that the published selection criteria are minimum requirements and advises candidates who do not meet them not to apply. |
Reading the requirements line by line
- A type rating to apply, and KLM’s type afterwards. You must already hold a rating on any multi-pilot aircraft, valid on your first day, but after selection KLM puts you on its own Type Rating Course on whichever fleet has training capacity, and says there is no choice. A frozen ATPL without a type rating does not qualify. KLM does not publish whether that course carries a bond.
- 500 hours, and recent ones. The 500 hours must be on multi-engine aeroplanes of 5,700 kg or more, with 150 of them flown in commercial aviation in the 12 months before you apply, which rules out a pilot who has been out of the cockpit for a year. EU military pilots qualify through military experience instead.
- LPE 6, not 4. Most European airlines accept ICAO English Level 4; KLM wants Level 6 on the licence. Check your endorsement before you apply.
- A Dutch licence and medical. Both must be issued in the Netherlands, or converted to Dutch issue, before employment starts and at your expense, and the medical must be valid for at least three months on your start date. Start the transfer early.
- Dutch, depending on the vacancy. The Dutch-language vacancy needs a B2 certificate before selection if Dutch is not your first language. The English-language vacancy expects A2 within a year of joining, with an online course from KLM, and B1 before promotion to Captain (aeroTELEGRAPH; KLM vacancy text seen in October 2026).
- An EU passport. KLM’s English cockpit page includes Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein; the Dutch vacancy says only EU. Non-EU EEA and Swiss pilots should confirm with KLM pilot recruitment.
- The rest. HAVO with English or MBO-4 (or a foreign equivalent), height 1.58 to 2.03 m, the ability to swim, and every document uploaded as a PDF with the application. Selection travel and hotels are at your own cost, and a rejection at any stage bars you for two years.
KLM’s pension rules set retirement at 58, which part-time work can push back to 62. That is not a recruitment age limit, and KLM publishes none.
Entry routes
- KLM publishes TWO routes into its cockpits (pilot FAQ): (1) straight from the KLM Flight Academy, or (2) as an already-experienced pilot applying to an open vacancy.
- Direct entry pilot ('Verkeersvlieger - Piloot') — experienced pilots who already hold a valid Multi-Pilot Aircraft type rating. KLM assigns you either as Second Officer on a wide-body or as First Officer on a European aircraft depending on production demand; the vacancy states 'KLM bepaalt de toewijzing' (KLM decides the allocation).
- Cadet / ab-initio via KLM Flight Academy (KLMFA) in Eelde — two-year course, 80 students trained in 2026, KLM employment contract signed at the start of training alongside the training agreement.
- First Officer B747-400F with Martinair Cargo — a separate vacancy; you are employed by KLM and placed in the Martinair freight operation. Higher hours requirements than mainline.
- NOTE: EU military pilot experience is an ALTERNATIVE way of qualifying within the direct entry and Martinair vacancies (an EU Military Pilot Licence MPL-A/H plus Dutch at B2 can substitute for the civil flight-school preference and the hours figures). It is not a separate application route, and KLM publishes no standalone military-entry vacancy.
KLM Flight Academy: cost, repayment and eligibility
The KLM Flight Academy in Eelde runs a two-year course and is training 80 students in 2026, in four classes. You sign a KLM employment contract at the start, alongside the training agreement, and from 1 January 2026 KLM finances the course: instead of paying up front, you repay it from your gross salary over 120 months (KLM, December 2025).
| Item | As published for 2026 |
|---|---|
| Training cost | €163,500, repaid in one payment or from gross salary at €861 a month for 10 years, indexed each year |
| During training | A training allowance of €700 gross a month; KLM bears the cost if you cannot finish through unforeseen circumstances |
| Selection fee | €335, paid before selection starts |
| Age | 17 at the start of training; 27.5 is an advisory maximum, not a hard limit |
| Nationality and language | Dutch or EU nationality and very good Dutch |
| Schooling | HAVO with mathematics B, physics, English and Dutch, or VWO with mathematics A or B, physics, English and Dutch; some foreign diplomas and HBO or WO degrees are accepted, and there is an MBO-4 bridge through the Hanzehogeschool |
| Medical | Height 158 to 203 cm; no colour blindness; glasses or lenses allowed, with refraction normally between -6 and +5 and exceptions possible after an extra examination |
Selection takes three to six months: three days at the Aviation Medical Center in Amsterdam (pre-selection questionnaires and tests, a basic capacities test, a sensorimotor test and a core competency test with a psychologist), then an interview of 30 to 45 minutes at Schiphol with the Hiring Committee. You go on to the next phase only if you pass the one before.
KLM against the other Dutch and Air France-KLM routes
KLM’s 500-hour bar is low for a flag carrier, but the type-rating, Dutch-licence and language conditions remove many applicants before hours matter. The neighbouring routes, as recorded at each airline’s last check:
| Airline | Published minimum | Right to work | Status at last check |
|---|---|---|---|
| KLM | 500 h ME + 150 h/12 mth · 1,000 h B747F | EU passport · EEA/CH unconfirmed | Recruiting (25 August 2026) |
| Transavia | Not published | EEA / NL | Unconfirmed (21 September 2026) |
| Air France | No minimum · 70 h PIC if no CS-25 rating | EEA or Swiss · no sponsorship | Recruiting (25 August 2026) |
| Lufthansa Group | None for cadet · direct entry not published | EU, Swiss or EFTA citizenship | Cadet only (25 August 2026) |
| SAS | 400 h CS/FAR-25 (FO) · 3,000 h (Capt) | EU · UK Heathrow · no sponsorship | Recruiting (25 August 2026) |
Transavia and Air France belong to the same group as KLM but advertise their own vacancies under their own requirements, so applying to one is not applying to the others.
Selection process
- Round 1: CV selection (application with CV, motivation letter and all supporting documents in PDF)
- Round 2: Online assessment
- Round 3: Psychological assessment
- Round 4: Simulator grading
- Round 5: Interview with the Hiring Committee (Commissie van Aanname / COVA)
- Round 6: Security screening by the AIVD Security Screening Unit (UVO) for a Certificate of No Objection (Verklaring Geen Bezwaar); background check by KLM Security Services via the Judicial Documentation Service for criminal record and integrity issues; pre-employment medical at KLM Health Services including blood and urine tests for medication, alcohol and drugs
- An internal file check and a reference check may also form part of the procedure
- After successful selection: Type Rating Course on a KLM fleet type, allocated when training capacity allows
- KLM Flight Academy cadet route runs a separate procedure. The Aviation Medical Center in Amsterdam conducts the first four parts over three non-consecutive days: pre-selection (personality questionnaires, intellectual capacity and sensorimotor tests), Phase 1 Basic Capacities Test (BCO, approx. 2 hours), Phase 2 Sensorimotor Test (SMO), Phase 3 Core Competency Test (KCO — psychologist interview, individual exercise, cooperation exercise); then Phase 4 TC/COVA interview (30-45 minutes) at KLM Schiphol. Progression is decided after each phase. Total duration approximately three to six months. KLMFA explicitly asks candidates not to take selection training, saying it can produce unnatural or socially desirable behaviour that prevents an accurate assessment.
Bases and fleet
Bases: Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) — the only location published on the current cockpit vacancies. The direct entry vacancy carries jobLocation 'Schiphol Centrum, NL' and the Martinair Cargo full-freighter operation is described as flying from Schiphol.
Fleet: Boeing 777 · Boeing 787 · Boeing 737 · Airbus A330 · Airbus A321neo (KLM's careers page notes the first A321neo arrived at Schiphol in September) · Embraer 175, Embraer 190 and Embraer 195-E2 (KLM Cityhopper) · Boeing 747-400F (Martinair Cargo, four aircraft; the vacancy states the type will be replaced by the Airbus A350F from end 2027) · Airbus A350 — described by KLM's careers page as coming 'soon'; not yet listed by KLM as an in-service type on its pilot pages · Airbus A320neo — named by KLM among aircraft being acquired; KLM's pilot-facing pages do not present it as an in-service type yet
Fleet changes that decide where new pilots fly
- The 737 is on its way out. KLM’s first A321neo was delivered in August 2024 and entered service that September, the first 737-800 was retired in December 2025, and about 15 A321neos were in service by May 2026, with more on order (Airbus, KLM, AirData News). A new First Officer in Europe may be trained on either type, and KLM decides which.
- The A350 has arrived. KLM took delivery of its first A350-900, with 331 seats, on 2 October 2026, for routes such as Toronto (Airbus). The A350s replace the A330s first and later older 777s. The 2025 preliminary agreement with the pilots’ union VNV, put to its members that September, included terms for introducing the type, such as longer crew-rest bunks, and one extra working day a month for pilots in summer 2026 (AviTrader, August 2025).
- Freighters and regional jets. Martinair’s four 747-400Fs are to be replaced by the A350F from the end of 2027, according to KLM’s 2026 vacancy. KLM Cityhopper flies the Embraer 175, 190 and 195-E2, and we found no separate Cityhopper pilot vacancy.
At many airlines a wide-body Second Officer seat is a cruise relief role in an augmented crew, while a First Officer seat in Europe means several sectors a day from Schiphol. If KLM offers you one, ask how many take-offs and landings it gives and how long the move to the other usually takes under the seniority rules in the pilots’ collective agreement.
How to prepare
KLM’s European fleet is changing from the 737 to the A321neo while you apply, and KLM chooses your type, so split type study between the B737 bank and the A320 bank; a Second Officer seat will be on the 777, 787, A330 or the new A350. Selection runs a CV check, an online assessment, a psychological assessment, simulator grading and the Hiring Committee interview, and the ATPL theory banks cover the technical knowledge the grading and the interview assume. The KLM Flight Academy asks cadets not to take selection training, so a cadet’s best preparation is a solid grasp of school maths, physics and English.
For what candidates report about the psychological assessment, the simulator and the technical questions, read our KLM pilot interview guide; for KLM’s sister airline in the Air France-KLM group, see the Air France pilot interview guide. The Library explains ranks, seniority and scheduling, which govern every move at KLM after you join. Check KLM’s entry on the jobs board for the latest status.
What we could not confirm
- Whether the Type Rating Course provided by KLM after selection carries a training bond, and if so its length or value — this is not published on any KLM page found.
- Whether direct entry Captain positions exist. No DEC vacancy was listed and no KLM page describes a direct entry Captain route; the direct entry vacancy refers career progression to the 'Regeling Vlieger Loopbaan' in the pilots' collective labour agreement (CAO), which suggests command is filled internally, but this could not be confirmed from a published source.
- Whether KLM Cityhopper recruits pilots separately. The English cockpit page says 'the cockpits of KLM and KLM Cityhopper', and the direct entry vacancy states KLM allocates you to a wide-body or a European aircraft, but a keyword search of the live jobs list on 25 August 2026 returned no standalone KLM Cityhopper pilot vacancy and no page states how Cityhopper placement is decided.
- Any minimum hours on type. KLM requires a valid MPA type rating but publishes no hours-on-type figure — treated here as not published rather than assumed to be zero.
- Any direct entry age limit. None is published. The retirement age of 58 comes from the pension section of the FAQ and must not be read as a maximum recruitment age.
- Whether Amsterdam Schiphol is formally KLM's SOLE pilot base. Schiphol is the only location published on the current cockpit vacancies and on the Martinair full-freighter operation, but KLM does not publish a statement that no other pilot base exists — so this record states Schiphol as the published location rather than asserting it is the only one.
- The discrepancy between the English cockpit page (EU plus Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and the Dutch vacancies (EU member state only) on eligible passports. KLM does not reconcile the two; non-EU EEA and Swiss candidates should confirm with klm.pilot.recruitment@klm.com before applying rather than relying on either page.
- Whether the 'Verkeersvlieger - Piloot' vacancy is actively screening or is effectively a standing talent pool. Its JobPosting datePosted is 25 April 2024 and it has been kept open with no closing date since; the body text is current for 2026 and it appears in the live jobs list, but KLM publishes no current intake volumes or hiring rate for the direct entry route. A pilot should not infer an active intake from the vacancy being open.
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
How many hours do you need to fly for KLM? 500 hours on multi-engine aeroplanes with a maximum take-off mass of 5,700 kg or more, with at least 150 hours in commercial aviation in the 12 months before you apply; EU military experience can replace both figures. You must also hold a valid multi-pilot type rating. The Martinair 747 freighter vacancy, due to close at the end of August 2026, asked for 1,000 hours with 100 in command.
Do you need to speak Dutch to be a KLM pilot? It depends on the vacancy. The Dutch-language direct-entry vacancy needs Dutch at B2, certified before selection, if Dutch is not your first language. KLM also advertises an English-language Experienced Pilot vacancy for EU passport holders, who are expected to reach A2 Dutch within a year and B1 before promotion to Captain. Cadets at the KLM Flight Academy need very good Dutch.
Do you need a type rating to apply to KLM? Yes. The direct-entry vacancy requires a type rating on any multi-pilot aircraft, valid on your first day. After selection KLM trains you on its own fleet type, chosen by training capacity and not by you, and it does not publish whether that course is bonded.
How much does the KLM Flight Academy cost? The 2026 training cost is €163,500. Since 1 January 2026 students no longer pay up front: KLM finances the course and you repay it either in one payment or from your gross salary at €861 a month for 10 years, indexed annually. You receive a training allowance of €700 gross a month, and the selection fee is €335.
Does KLM hire direct entry Captains? No. KLM publishes no direct-entry Captain vacancy. Experienced pilots join as Second Officers on a wide-body or First Officers on the European fleet, as KLM decides, and the vacancy refers career progression to the pilot career scheme in the pilots’ collective agreement.
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