How did the airline pilots we meet at airports and admire as they pass by start their careers? What training did they receive to become airline pilots? How long do airline pilot courses last? We have prepared the answers to your questions for you in this article.

The name of the license held by airline pilots is ATPL (Airline Transport Pilot License). A person who holds this license can pilot airlines or private jets, and is authorized to fly commercial flights such as tourist trips. And how do they get this license?

In Turkey, there are 3 methods to obtain an Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL).

1- By registering to the FLIGHT ACADEMIES authorized by the Ministry of Transport:

Education is provided by private institutions authorized by the Ministry of Transport.

To obtain the ATPL license required for airline piloting, it is sufficient to be 17 years old and a high school graduate.

ATPL training is generally modular, meaning it is taken in parts.

The first step of the training is PPL Training, that is, private pilot training. With this training, you can make individual flights, but not commercial flights. For commercial flights, you need to add training.

When you complete your PPL training, you gain 89 hours of flight experience, called PIC (Pilot In Command) in the country and Time Building (Time Filling) abroad. During this training, you receive NVFR (also known as Night VFR) training to be authorized for night flight, and after completing the exams of your ATPL theory courses, you will be entitled to start CPL, i.e. Commercial Pilot License training. Finally, you will have an ATPL license with your instrument flight and multi-engine flight training. You can apply for a job in airline companies with your ATPL License.

You can fill out the form to get detailed information about the trainings https://northfly.aero/en/trainings/atpl-frozen-training-modular/

2- By enrolling in Airline Flight Academies:

It is the training given by airlines to train their own pilots at certain periods. You must meet the airlines’ minimum requirements and pass the interview. Tuition fees start from 190 thousand Euros.

Education conditions

• T.R. Being a citizen or having a blue card,
• Having at least a bachelor’s degree, *A YÖK equivalence certificate is required from candidates who graduated from universities abroad.
• Being born before 31.12.2003 and after 01.01.1994,
• Having completed military service or committing to postpone it for at least 2 years from the start date of training,
• No criminal record or criminal record archive record,
• Not having resigned from previous organizations due to indiscipline,
• Candidates with blue cards or more than one citizenship must be able to speak fluent and understandable Turkish.

3- By enrolling in the pilotage department of UNIVERSITIES:

It is the education provided by universities to those who meet the required base score from the university exam held by ÖSYM. After you get the sufficient score for the pilot department, you should choose a university. The pilot training you receive lasts 4 years. When you complete the training, you will have a university diploma and ATPL license.

What is the Duration of Airline Pilot Training?

ATPL training, which enables commercial flights, varies according to the person’s work performance, meteorology, the authority from time to time and the flight academy to which the person is affiliated. This process usually takes between 14-18 months.

Is it Possible to Apply for an Airline Job with ATPL?
There are tens or even hundreds of different types of airplanes in the world. Some have long wings, some have 3 engines, some have more autonomous/electronic systems. For this reason, in order to use most of the advanced aircraft, you need to get Type Rating (Type Training), but don’t be disappointed, it is not compulsory to get this training. After the recruitment processes are completed according to their own aircraft fleet and operation procedures, airlines provide Type Training for the aircraft fleet they assign you to and collect the fee in installments from your salary.

How Much Does ATPL Training Cost?

Our ATPL training at NorthFly Flight Academy costs 76,000 Euros, but this fee may vary if you want to train in English or if you want to continue the second phase of your training abroad.