Pilot Jobs in Dubai and the UAE 2026: Emirates, Etihad Airways, flydubai, Air Arabia
Our jobs board tracks 4 airlines based in the UAE, Emirates, Etihad Airways, flydubai and Air Arabia. At the last check 3 of them had the First Officer seat open and 3 the Captain seat, and the status of Air Arabia was unconfirmed. Emirates says it sponsors the visa, job boards report that flydubai and Air Arabia do too, and Etihad Airways’ adverts state no visa terms. A First Officer entry for pilots without a type rating is published by 2 of the 4, Air Arabia (as job boards report it) and flydubai; Emirates and Etihad Airways want a type rating held when you apply; the lowest published First or Second Officer entry for pilots without a type rating is at flydubai, with no hours minimum. This page lists each one with its base, seats, type-rating rule, minimum and visa terms, then the routes from zero and the traps in a UAE vacancy: hours that count only on certain aircraft, bonds, age limits, published pay and cadet schemes for UAE nationals. The other Gulf airlines are on the Middle East jobs page.
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.
Interview study guides for UAE airlines
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The UAE airlines (4)
Every UAE airline on our board, by its status at the last check: 3 recruiting for at least one seat. The type-rating column is what the airline’s published First Officer entries ask, with the record’s own summary; the hours are the published minimums, in the airline’s own measure; the visa column is the record’s summary.
| Airline | Bases, as recorded | F/O seat | Captain seat | F/O type rating | Published minimum | Visa | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emirates Recruiting | Dubai | Recruiting | Recruiting | Required Provided, bonded USD 42,000 / 42 months | 2,000 h FO (1,000 on type) · 7,000 h Capt | UAE visa sponsored | 12 October 2026 |
| Etihad Airways Recruiting | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Recruiting | Recruiting | Required Required on current vacancies · bond reported | 1,500 h FO (1,000 on A320) · 5,500 h Capt | Not published | 20 October 2026 |
| flydubai Recruiting | Dubai | Recruiting | Recruiting | Rated and non-rated streams Rated and non-rated streams · 3-year bond | 1,500 h MPA / 500 h 737 (rated FO) · 2,500 h non-rated · 5,000 h Capt · Second Officer: CPL + frozen ATPL | UAE visa sponsored (job-board copies) | 20 October 2026 |
| Air Arabia Unconfirmed | Sharjah · Abu Dhabi · Ras Al Khaimah · Jeddah · Casablanca (Air Arabia Maroc) · Alexandria (Air Arabia Egypt) | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | Not required A320 preferred | 1,500 h FO · 4,000 h Capt (reported) | Visa per AOC | 21 September 2026 |
Who is hiring, seat by seat
First Officer seat open at the last check: Emirates, Etihad Airways and flydubai. Captain seat open: Emirates, Etihad Airways and flydubai. Each UAE airline as its record sums it up, with the date of the check:
- Emirates F/O: Recruiting Capt: Recruiting
Emirates had four pilot vacancies open on 25 August 2026, all based in Dubai and none with a closing date: First Officer, Accelerated Command, Direct Entry Captain and the National Cadet Pilot Programme. Its recruitment roadshow, reported to run from August 2026 to February 2027, had September sessions in South Korea, Ireland and the UK. On 12 October 2026 it was still recruiting: a roadshow in Manila on 28 and 29 October 2026 covered all three experienced routes. (checked 12 October 2026) — careers page · Study guide (PDF, €4.99) - Etihad Airways F/O: Recruiting Capt: Recruiting
On 19 and 20 October 2026 Etihad’s own recruitment system listed First Officer and Captain vacancies on the A320 (released 8 October) and on the A330 (released 9 October), all based in Abu Dhabi and all for pilots already rated and current on the type, and its UAE National Cadet Pilot Programme. The five experienced-pilot vacancies of 31 July 2026, among them its Airbus wide-body and A320 instructor roles, were no longer listed. Its pilots page listed recruitment events in Athens on 20 October, Barcelona and Hong Kong on 28 October, online on 17 November and in Kuala Lumpur on 24 November 2026. (checked 20 October 2026) — careers page · Study guide (PDF, €4.99) - flydubai F/O: Recruiting Capt: Recruiting
flydubai’s First Officer, Captain and Second Officer pages, read on 19 and 20 October 2026, publish type-rated and non-type-rated streams for both seats, each with a three-year training bond, and a Second Officer Programme for CPL holders with a GCAA frozen ATPL, the 737 rating trained with no upfront cost under a two-year bond. We could not open its application portal, the only way it recruits, to confirm which streams are taking applications. After the 2026 airspace closures it said in mid-September that it expected to be back at or slightly above pre-war capacity by the end of the year. (checked 20 October 2026) — careers page · Study guide (PDF, €4.99) - Air Arabia F/O: Unconfirmed Capt: Unconfirmed
Industry boards report Captains (4,000 h) and First Officers (1,500 h) on fixed-term contracts across the UAE, Saudi and Pakistan JVs — confirm on careers.airarabia.com (checked 21 September 2026) — careers page
For Captains the door depends on what you command now: both Emirates command routes need Airbus fly-by-wire command time, so a Boeing-only Captain applies as a First Officer (checked 12 October 2026); flydubai’s non-rated Captains need 5,000 hours with 1,500 in command of a jet above 55 tonnes, or 6,000 with 1,500 in command of one above 50 tonnes (checked 20 October 2026). Every airline that takes Captains from outside is on the direct entry Captain jobs page.
Rated, non-rated and from zero
By what their published First Officer entries ask: Air Arabia (as job boards report it) publishes a First Officer entry that needs no type rating to apply; flydubai publishes separate rated and non-rated First Officer streams; Emirates and Etihad Airways want a type rating held when you apply.
Emirates trains you on the fleet it allocates, with no Emirates rating needed in advance, but asks for a current rating on the aircraft you fly now as evidence of currency (checked 12 October 2026); flydubai publishes non-rated First Officer and Captain streams beside its rated ones (checked 20 October 2026); Etihad’s current adverts, on the A320 and the A330, are all for pilots already rated, the rating valid for at least two more months on the day you join and the type flown in the last 12 months; non-rated First Officer listings appeared earlier in 2026 but were not listed at the last check (checked 20 October 2026); Air Arabia, as industry boards report it, prefers the A320 rating and offers a conversion on some contracts (checked 21 September 2026). The airlines that train you on type, in the Gulf and beyond, are on the non-type-rated First Officer jobs page.
The cadet routes the UAE airlines’ records name, worded as recorded:
- Emirates Intake: Not stated
National Cadet Pilot Programme (ab-initio, UAE nationals only) - 0 hours (checked 12 October 2026) - Etihad Airways Intake: Not stated
Cadet Pilot Programme - ab-initio, UAE Nationals only (checked 20 October 2026) - flydubai Intake: Not stated
Ab-initio MPL for UAE nationals (aged 17 to 30): about 18 to 24 months to Second Officer on the 737; first batch from late 2025 (checked 20 October 2026) - Air Arabia Intake: Not stated
Air Arabia Cadet Pilot Programme — periodic (checked 21 September 2026)
Who the cadet schemes take. Emirates’ National Cadet Pilot Programme is for UAE nationals, with a UAE passport and the family book (Khulasat Al Qaid) (checked 12 October 2026); Etihad’s Cadet Pilot Programme is for UAE nationals, with National Service completed or exempted for men (checked 20 October 2026); flydubai’s ab-initio MPL is for UAE nationals aged 17 to 30 (checked 20 October 2026); Air Arabia’s record names a periodic cadet program without saying whom it takes (checked 21 September 2026). Outside them, a pilot from abroad joins a UAE airline as an experienced First Officer or Captain, or as a Second Officer through flydubai’s Second Officer Programme above; more routes from low hours are on the low-hour pilot jobs and cadet programs pages.
How to read a UAE pilot vacancy
- Hours with a qualifier. Emirates counts its 2,000 First Officer hours on jets of at least 20 tonnes for the 777 stream and 50 tonnes for the A380 and A350, excluding P3, rotary and piston time (checked 12 October 2026); Emirates also wants 1,000 hours on the type you fly now, Boeing for the 777 stream or Airbus fly-by-wire for the A380 and A350, with 150 in the last 12 months (checked 12 October 2026); Etihad’s A320 First Officer advert of 8 October 2026 gives two sets of minimums, of which you need only one: 2,000 hours, 1,500 of them on multi-crew glass-cockpit aircraft and 500 on type, or 1,500 hours with 1,000 on the A320 family; its A330 First Officers need 2,500 hours, 1,500 on multi-crew glass-cockpit aircraft and 1,000 on type (checked 20 October 2026); Etihad’s Captain adverts, A320 and A330, count hours on flights with in-flight relief at 75% (checked 20 October 2026); flydubai counts 1,500 hours on multi-pilot aircraft and 500 on the 737-300 to -900 for a rated First Officer, the type endorsed in the last 24 months (checked 20 October 2026); flydubai’s non-rated First Officers need 2,500 hours, 1,000 of them on EFIS multi-crew aircraft above 10 tonnes (checked 20 October 2026). Total time on light single-pilot aircraft does not meet a jet, multi-pilot or 10-tonne figure, so total your logbook by the advert’s own categories. Every airline’s minimum is on the hours requirements page.
- The bond. Emirates’ training bond is USD 42,000 for 42 months on the passenger fleet (checked 12 October 2026); Emirates will not pay off a bond you still owe your current airline (checked 12 October 2026); flydubai’s training bond runs three years: USD 24,000 if you join rated, USD 36,000 if not (checked 20 October 2026); whether flydubai’s bond reduces over its three years is among the points we could not confirm (checked 20 October 2026); flydubai’s Second Officers owe USD 36,000 for 24 months, repaid by monthly salary deduction until they become First Officers (checked 20 October 2026); Etihad’s adverts publish no bond terms, though pilots report one, reportedly higher for non-rated joiners (checked 20 October 2026). Ask what you would repay if you left in year one, two or three, and whether the bond falls over time, before you resign from your current job.
- The visa. Emirates says it sponsors it, job boards report that flydubai and Air Arabia do too, and for Etihad Airways it is not published. Emirates sponsors a UAE residence visa, applied for once you join and taking up to about two weeks, with your family’s visas after it (checked 12 October 2026); Emirates says there are no visa restrictions on a spouse working in Dubai (checked 12 October 2026); Emirates’ residence visa needs HIV, hepatitis B and TB tests, which the UAE requires (checked 12 October 2026); job-board copies of flydubai’s First Officer adverts ask that you be eligible for a UAE residence visa, which it sponsors, though its own pilot pages do not mention the visa (checked 20 October 2026); Etihad’s adverts describe relocation support, a shipping allowance, settling-in help and family travel, but state no visa or nationality terms (checked 20 October 2026); Air Arabia’s visa comes with the operating company you join, in the UAE or abroad, as job boards describe it (checked 21 September 2026). The airlines that sponsor a pilot’s visa worldwide are on the visa sponsorship page.
- Age, license, medical and English. Etihad takes First Officers under 50 and Captains under 59 on the day of joining (checked 20 October 2026); Emirates publishes no maximum entry age, which is not the same as having none, and you must be 30 to start its command course (checked 12 October 2026); Emirates accepts a frozen ATPL from First Officers who meet the hours (checked 12 October 2026); Etihad asks frozen-ATPL holders for their theory results and an integrated course completion certificate (checked 20 October 2026); flydubai wants a full ICAO ATPL from its First Officers and Captains (checked 20 October 2026); Emirates wants an unrestricted Class 1 from the authority that issued your license (checked 12 October 2026); Emirates asks for ICAO English Level 4 from First Officers and Level 5 for its command routes (checked 12 October 2026); what converting to a UAE license involves is among the points we could not confirm for Emirates (checked 12 October 2026).
- Published pay. Etihad publishes up to AED 513,732 a year for a First Officer, at 75 flying hours a month, tax-free (checked 20 October 2026); flydubai publishes AED 37,000 a month for a First Officer, basic salary with housing and transport allowances, plus flying pay averaging AED 11,410 at about 70 flying hours (checked 20 October 2026); we have not checked the salary figures on Emirates’ role pages against a contract, so we do not repeat them (checked 12 October 2026); Emirates’ contract is permanent, with no fixed duration unless stated otherwise, and six months’ probation (checked 12 October 2026). A published figure assumes a stated month of flying; ask what the contract guarantees.
- Roadshows and how to apply. Emirates’ roadshow sessions explain the routes, training, rosters and relocation and are not a selection stage (checked 12 October 2026); Emirates’ pilots page prints the session dates with day and month only, so check the year before you travel (checked 12 October 2026); Etihad welcomes candidates who do not yet meet every criterion at its events, to register interest (checked 20 October 2026); Etihad says it never asks for payment, bank details or personal information during recruitment (checked 20 October 2026); flydubai recruits only through its own portal (checked 20 October 2026); flydubai says it never refers candidates to a third party to process applications or visas (checked 20 October 2026); flydubai’s own Second Officer page states a USD 1,000 assessment fee, charged at the assessment (checked 20 October 2026); Air Arabia, as job boards describe it, recruits only through its own careers site (checked 21 September 2026); the 2026 regional conflict led the UAE to close its airspace partly from late February, and it lifted the last restrictions in early May, as Al Jazeera reported on 3 May 2026 (checked 20 October 2026). Apply on the airline’s own site; a fee, where there is one, is on the airline’s own page, so do not pay anyone else to apply.
For the selection, the interview guides for Emirates, Etihad Airways and flydubai, the complete interview guide, the top 50 A320 interview questions and the Library’s airline simulator assessment article.
Common questions
Which UAE airlines are hiring pilots? At the last check the First Officer seat was open at Emirates, Etihad Airways and flydubai and the Captain seat at Emirates, Etihad Airways and flydubai; the status of Air Arabia was unconfirmed. The tables on this page give the date each airline was checked. Confirm the vacancy on the airline’s own careers site before applying.
How many hours do I need to fly for a UAE airline? Each airline’s published minimums, in its own measure: Emirates: 2,000 h FO (1,000 on type) · 7,000 h Capt (checked 12 October 2026); Etihad Airways: 1,500 h FO (1,000 on A320) · 5,500 h Capt (checked 20 October 2026); flydubai: 1,500 h MPA / 500 h 737 (rated FO) · 2,500 h non-rated · 5,000 h Capt · Second Officer: CPL + frozen ATPL (checked 20 October 2026); Air Arabia: 1,500 h FO · 4,000 h Capt (reported) (checked 21 September 2026). Most count only certain hours, on jets of a given weight, on multi-pilot aircraft or on type, so read the advert’s categories before you total your logbook.
Do UAE airlines sponsor the visa? Emirates says it sponsors it, job boards report that flydubai and Air Arabia do too; for Etihad Airways the visa terms are not published. Emirates sponsors a UAE residence visa, applied for once you join and taking up to about two weeks, with your family’s visas after it.
Can I join a UAE airline without a type rating? At Air Arabia (as job boards report it) and flydubai, which publish a First Officer entry for pilots without one; the lowest First or Second Officer entry for a pilot without one is at flydubai, with no hours minimum. Emirates and Etihad Airways want a rating held when you apply. Where the airline trains you on type, ask about the bond.
Can a foreigner join a UAE airline cadet program? Not the schemes our board’s records describe: Emirates’ National Cadet Pilot Programme is for UAE nationals, with a UAE passport and the family book (Khulasat Al Qaid); Etihad’s Cadet Pilot Programme is for UAE nationals, with National Service completed or exempted for men; flydubai’s ab-initio MPL is for UAE nationals aged 17 to 30. Air Arabia’s record names a periodic cadet program without saying whom it takes. Pilots from abroad join as experienced First Officers or Captains, or, at flydubai, as Second Officers with a CPL and a GCAA frozen ATPL.
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