Ryanair Group Pilot Requirements 2026: Hours, Licence and Hiring Process

Ryanair recruits for five airlines through one portal (Ryanair DAC, Ryanair UK, Buzz, Malta Air and Lauda Europe), and the airline that employs you decides your contract, your regulator and, in practice, your base. The published minimums are fixed: 700 hours for a non-type-rated First Officer, 500 of them as a First Officer in multi-crew commercial air transport; 1,200 hours with 800 on the 737 for a rated First Officer; 3,500 hours for a Captain. Every route needs an EASA Part-FCL licence, an EU Part-MED Class 1, ICAO English Level 4 spoken and written, and the right to live and work in the EU (or the UK for the UK cadet route); the only age rule is “not over 65”. Below 700 hours there is no direct-entry job: the way in is a cadet programme, and Ryanair says its minimums “cannot be waived, amended, or negotiated”.

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Is Ryanair Group hiring pilots now?

Recruiting at the last check on 25 August 2026 — First Officer seat: Recruiting; Captain seat: Recruiting. No low-hour direct entry FO route: under 700 h, the cadet programme is the only way in

Requirements, as published

What the requirements mean in practice

• An EASA licence, and the airline that employs you. All five airlines ask for an EASA Part-FCL licence, but the experienced 737 vacancies we read in August 2026 were advertised by Buzz, with bases in Poland and Lithuania, and the A320 vacancy by Lauda Europe, with bases in Vienna, Zadar and Zagreb. On the cadet side a UK-only licence limits you to the Ryanair UK fleet.
• 700 hours, with 500 as a First Officer. The 500 hours must be in the First Officer seat of a multi-crew, multi-engine aircraft in commercial air transport, and instructor hours are not counted. A 700-hour instructor with no airline time does not meet the list; the advert sends such pilots to the cadet programmes.
• A current instrument rating. A non-rated First Officer’s ME/IR must be valid on the assessment date and must not expire more than 12 months after the course start, so renew it before you apply if it is close to expiry.
• The 36-month rule for rated pilots. If your 737 rating has lapsed for more than 36 months at the course start, if you have fewer than 800 hours on type and 1,000 on CS-25 aircraft, or if you have not flown the 737 in the previous 36 months, you are treated as non-type-rated and do the full transition type rating instead.
• Captains: jet time in an airline. 2,000 hours on multi-crew jets above 30,000 kg with an airline, a cargo operator or a military transport unit, and 800 hours in command of such jets; turboprop command does not count. Rated Captains add 500 hours in command on the 737-300 to -900, and non-rated Captains must have flown such a jet in the 36 months before the course.
• Cadets: the certificates are read to the letter. An APS MCC certificate (a standard MCC or MCC/JOC is no longer accepted, even with a type rating), an Advanced UPRT certificate that states FCL.745.A, and a flight school report in English, signed by the Head of Training, listing every ATPL result including repeats. Resits are therefore visible.

Only an upper age limit is published, so a career changer is not ruled out by age. Every route also asks for the ability to pass an enhanced background check.

Entry routes

• Direct Entry B737 Rated Captains (Buzz bases, Ryanair Group)
• Direct Entry B737 Non-Type Rated Captains (Buzz bases, Ryanair Group)
• Direct Entry B737 Non-Type Rated Experienced First Officers (Buzz bases, Ryanair Group)
• Direct Entry B737 Type-Rated First Officers (Buzz) — advert seen in September 2026: 1,200 h total, 1,000 on CS-25 aircraft and 800 on the B737-300 to -900, with 737 First Officer flying in the 36 months before the course
• A320 Rated & Airbus CCQ Experienced First Officers (Lauda Europe)
• AFA B737 Cadet Pilots - self-sponsored type rating, bases throughout Europe & Ryanair UK (G-reg)
• AFA B737 Cadet Pilots - UK partly-sponsored type rating programme (Ryanair DAC, EASA licence)
• Ryanair Future Flyer Academy - part-sponsored training entered at one of three gateways: Gateway 0 (no previous flying experience), Gateway 1 (PPL holders with 100h PIC) and Gateway 2 (EASA frozen ATPL, CPL & ME/IR holders). Applications are made through Ryanair's approved training partner schools only, not through Ryanair
• Challenger 350-3500 First Officers (London Stansted) - a live vacancy. Challenger 350-3500 Captains (London Stansted and Bergamo) are advertised as 'Expression of Interest' only, which is not a confirmed open position

The cadet routes, and what each costs

Ryanair’s cadet routes split by where you start. The Future Flyer Academy (formerly the Mentored Programme) takes you from no experience, a PPL or a frozen ATPL through a partner flight school. The AFA 737 cadet programmes take pilots who already hold a CPL or frozen ATPL with an ME/IR straight to the type rating. Ryanair publishes the structure; the schools publish the prices.

Ryanair launched the Future Flyer Academy with Atlantic Flight Training Academy in Cork in April 2024, saying it would bring more than 400 pilots into the group as Second Officers over four years, and now works with partner schools including FTEJerez in Spain, Aviomar in Italy, Astonfly in France, Bartolini Air in Poland and Skyborne in the UK. Applications go to the schools, not to Ryanair. The schools say the conditional job offer now comes at enrolment and the course ends with a Ryanair 737 type rating under a training agreement. Ryanair calls the training “part-sponsored”, which does not mean a small bill: ask the school for the full cost in writing, and for what the training agreement commits you to.

Selection process

1. Apply online: create a candidate profile at pilotjobs.ryanair.com, upload all required documents and apply to the role
2. Application screening / shortlisting by the recruitment team
3. Phase 1 - Online assessment via AON (Work-Related Behavioural Assessment required by EASA CAT.GEN.MPA.175). €60 fee. Captains complete 1 task; experienced First Officers complete 4 tasks. Must be passed before the simulator stage
4. Phase 2 - One-day assessment at a Ryanair simulator centre in Europe: simulator assessment, technical interview and HR/in-person interview, including a psychological evaluation. For cadets this day runs as: pre-simulator briefing, company presentation, 45-minute B737-800 or B737-8200 FTD assessment as both PF and PM (basic handling, CRM, flight management), English language test, 30-minute technical assessment on current/previous types, and an approximately 30-minute personal interview
5. Result notified - the direct-entry careers page (September 2026, per our study-guide research, September 2026) gives a result within about a week, with the base confirmed at offer stage; cadets: 'within 7 working days after the selection day' (published on the cadet vacancy pages)
6. Course booking - successful candidates are given a course start date and base confirmation

Before you apply: fees, documents and the result

• The online assessment costs €60. It runs on Aon’s platform as the work-related behavioural assessment EASA requires (CAT.GEN.MPA.175), and must be passed before any simulator invitation. Captains complete one task and experienced First Officers four. The fee is not refunded on the Buzz 737 roles or the cadet programmes; on the Lauda A320 role it is reimbursed if you complete the process and start training.
• One profile, kept up to date. If you have applied before, update your existing profile rather than opening a second account.
• One assessment day. The simulator, the technical interview and the HR interview, with a psychological evaluation, happen on one day at a group simulator centre. For cadets the day is a 45-minute 737 FTD session as pilot flying and pilot monitoring, an English test, a 30-minute technical assessment and a personal interview of about 30 minutes.
• A result within about a week, and no feedback. The direct-entry careers page gives about a week, with the base confirmed at the offer; cadets hear within 7 working days. Ryanair gives no individual feedback on performance.
• Direct-entry type-rating terms are not published. Neither the cost nor any bond for a non-rated First Officer’s or Captain’s transition course appears on the vacancy pages. Ask for both in writing before you accept a course date.

Bases and fleet

Bases: Buzz bases across Poland (Gdansk, Katowice, Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw) and Lithuania (Kaunas, Vilnius) - per current Direct Entry B737 vacancies · Lauda Europe: Vienna (VIE), Zadar (ZAD), Zagreb (ZAG) - per current A320 FO vacancy · Ryanair DAC bases throughout the United Kingdom - per current UK partly-sponsored cadet vacancy · London Stansted and Bergamo - Challenger 350/3500 business jet vacancies · Type rating training: East Midlands Training Centre; selection days in Dublin or other company training centres · Ryanair states 'great base opportunities available at many locations across our vast network' but does not publish a full pilot base list

Fleet: Boeing 737-800 NG (411 aircraft, Ryanair DAC) · Boeing 737-8200 'Gamechanger' (210 aircraft, Ryanair DAC) · Airbus A320 (26 aircraft, Lauda Europe) · Boeing 737 MAX 10 (150 firm plus 150 options; not yet certified in September 2026, first 15 due in spring 2027) · Bombardier Challenger 350/3500 (business jet operation) - evidenced only by current vacancy titles on pilotjobs.ryanair.com; NOT listed on Ryanair's corporate fleet page, and no aircraft count is published

Fleet and base changes that decide where new pilots fly

• The MAX 10 sets the pace of growth. Ryanair has 150 firm orders and 150 options. Certification was pushed back by a software issue in late September 2026; on 29 September the chief executive said he still expected the first 15 aircraft in spring 2027 (Bloomberg, The Irish Times). Growth is what creates Captain vacancies, so the delivery schedule matters to a First Officer joining now.
• The 737-8200 programme is complete. The last of 210 Gamechangers arrived early in 2026, and the group operated 647 aircraft at 31 March 2026, all 737s except Lauda Europe’s 26 A320s (FY26 results). New joiners fly both the -800 and the -8200.
• Bases move with airport costs. Ryanair is closing its seven-aircraft Berlin base on 24 October 2026 and moving the aircraft to lower-cost countries, and said its Berlin crews would be offered positions elsewhere in its network (April 2026). For winter 2026 it is opening a two-aircraft base in Rabat, its fifth in Morocco (Ryanair, August 2026), and adding a fourth aircraft at Bratislava; a three-aircraft base in Tirana opened for summer 2026.

So the question is not only whether you get an offer but where. Ryanair confirms the base at the offer stage, and a 2026 Buzz advert allocated bases “first come, first served”. Know which bases you would accept before the assessment day, and ask which airline in the group would employ you.

How to prepare

The Ryanair-brand airlines fly only the 737-800 and 737-8200, with the MAX 10 next, so the B737 bank is the technical syllabus for every route except Lauda Europe’s A320s, where the A320 bank applies. Candidates describe the technical interview as ATPL subjects at operational depth plus, for rated pilots, 737 systems, and the ATPL theory banks cover the first half. The Aon online assessment comes before any invitation and its €60 fee is refunded only on the Lauda route, so practise timed arithmetic, spatial and multitasking tests before you pay for it.

For the assessment day itself (the four stages, the 737 simulator profile candidates report and the interview questions), read our Ryanair pilot interview guide. If you are below 700 hours, compare the cadet routes on the cadet programmes page and other first jobs on low-hour pilot jobs. For the 737 systems, the Library covers the hydraulic system and pitch control and stabiliser trim. Check Ryanair’s entry on the jobs board for the latest status.

What we could not confirm

• Posting date and closing date for every current vacancy - Ryanair publishes neither on its vacancy pages, and there is no JSON-LD JobPosting or datePosted metadata. Status is therefore evidenced by direct observation of the live portal on 25 Aug 2026 rather than by a dated company announcement.
• Whether a type rating for Direct Entry Non-Type-Rated First Officers and Captains is company-funded, self-funded or bonded - not published on any of the vacancy pages.
• Minimum age for any route - only the 'not over 65' upper limit is published.
• Whether Ryanair DAC or Malta Air are separately recruiting Direct Entry B737 First Officers - the current experienced B737 vacancies are all advertised under Buzz. Absence of a DAC/Malta Air ad is not proof they are not hiring.
• The full list of pilot bases - the group reports about 95 bases (2026) but publishes no pilot base list; only the bases named in current vacancies are confirmed.
• Future Flyer Academy specific entry requirements (age, education, aptitude thresholds, cost, and what proportion of training is actually sponsored) - Ryanair publishes the three gateways but defers the detailed requirements and all pricing to its partner flight schools' own websites, which were not fetched. A pilot should not assume 'part-sponsored' means a low out-of-pocket cost.
• How quickly experienced direct entry candidates are told their assessment result - not on the direct-entry vacancy pages read on 25 Aug 2026; the direct-entry careers page seen in September 2026 says within about a week (our study-guide research, September 2026).
• Whether the Challenger 350/3500 business jet aircraft are operated by Ryanair Group itself and how many there are - no Challenger aircraft appear on Ryanair's corporate fleet page; the type is evidenced only by the vacancy titles.

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 Ryanair hiring pilots in 2026? Yes. On 25 August 2026 Ryanair’s own pilot portal carried nine live vacancies: rated and non-rated 737 Captains and non-rated experienced First Officers for Buzz bases in Poland and Lithuania, rated A320 First Officers for Lauda Europe, two cadet type-rating programmes, and Challenger business-jet roles at London Stansted and Bergamo. A rated 737 First Officer advert for Buzz followed in September. Ryanair publishes no closing dates, so check the portal before you apply.

How many hours do you need to fly for Ryanair? 700 hours total for a non-type-rated experienced First Officer, of which 500 must be as a First Officer on a multi-crew, multi-engine aircraft in commercial air transport, with instructor hours excluded. A type-rated 737 First Officer advert seen in September 2026 asked for 1,200 hours, 1,000 on CS-25 aircraft and 800 on the 737-300 to -900; Lauda Europe asks for 1,200 hours with 800 on the A320 family, A330 or A340. Captains need 3,500 hours. Cadets need no total, only 70 hours in command from integrated training or 100 from modular.

Can a low-hours pilot join Ryanair? Not through a direct-entry job: below 700 hours, Ryanair’s First Officer advert sends you to its cadet programmes. A pilot with a CPL or frozen ATPL and an ME/IR can apply to the AFA 737 cadet programmes or to Gateway 2 of the Future Flyer Academy, and needs an APS MCC certificate, an Advanced UPRT certificate stating FCL.745.A and a flight school report in English listing every ATPL result, including resits.

Does Ryanair pay for the type rating? It depends on the route. The AFA cadet programme for Europe and Ryanair UK is self-sponsored. The UK programme with Ryanair DAC is partly sponsored: €5,000 up front, then a yearly reducing training-costs agreement with no salary deductions. Future Flyer Academy courses end with the 737 rating under a training agreement; depending on the school and gateway it is either in the course price or bonded with no up-front cost, so ask which applies. For non-rated direct-entry First Officers and Captains, Ryanair publishes neither the cost nor any bond.

Can I fly for Ryanair with a UK licence? Only on the UK side. Every Ryanair route asks for an EASA Part-FCL licence or, for cadets, a dual UK and EASA licence; cadets with a UK licence only are limited to the Ryanair UK fleet. The Buzz and Lauda vacancies also need the unrestricted right to live and work in the EU, and the UK partly-sponsored cadet programme states that no visa sponsorship is available.