Are UK airlines pushing for the UK CAA to recognise EASA licences.
Joined: Aug 2022
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
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From: Edinburgh
Obtaining a UK CAA License (on the back of ones 'foreign' license) is one thing... but also required is the right to live & work in the UK (assuming that's where the G reg aircraft that one's going to fly is based) and obtaining the former does not, necessarily, beget the latter.
Joined: Sep 2018
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From: Yorkshire
Well yes, that's exactly the point. The idea that making the licence transfer stupidly expensive, time consuming and stressful beause that "protects British pilot jobs for British pilots" and "stops European pilots from just transfering their EASA to a CAA and stealing jobs" doesn't really stand up.
There are many, many professions where moving from one country to another requires even more than just sitting a few exams! Depending on the country, I know of nurses, pharmacists, accountants and lawyers who face huge retraining and exams to be accepted in another country. If you want to move to another country for a job, just do what is required in that country and quit moaning about it! (I feel that I am entitled to say just that having sat the full ATPL exams in two different countries. I just got on and did it!)
Joined: Sep 2012
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From: UK
If there’s a shortage of pilots for certain UK based airlines to recruit from, they could simply introduce FUNDED training courses and recruit as many cadets as needed. Just a BA, TUI and Jet2 have done. There’s no shortage of people wanting to join this career after all
Joined: Dec 2011
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From: UK
Stop being so 'precious'!
There are many, many professions where moving from one country to another requires even more than just sitting a few exams! Depending on the country, I know of nurses, pharmacists, accountants and lawyers who face huge retraining and exams to be accepted in another country. If you want to move to another country for a job, just do what is required in that country and quit moaning about it! (I feel that I am entitled to say just that having sat the full ATPL exams in two different countries. I just got on and did it!)
There are many, many professions where moving from one country to another requires even more than just sitting a few exams! Depending on the country, I know of nurses, pharmacists, accountants and lawyers who face huge retraining and exams to be accepted in another country. If you want to move to another country for a job, just do what is required in that country and quit moaning about it! (I feel that I am entitled to say just that having sat the full ATPL exams in two different countries. I just got on and did it!)
Joined: Aug 2022
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 240
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From: Edinburgh
Stop being so 'precious'!
There are many, many professions where moving from one country to another requires even more than just sitting a few exams! Depending on the country, I know of nurses, pharmacists, accountants and lawyers who face huge retraining and exams to be accepted in another country. If you want to move to another country for a job, just do what is required in that country and quit moaning about it! (I feel that I am entitled to say just that having sat the full ATPL exams in two different countries. I just got on and did it!)
There are many, many professions where moving from one country to another requires even more than just sitting a few exams! Depending on the country, I know of nurses, pharmacists, accountants and lawyers who face huge retraining and exams to be accepted in another country. If you want to move to another country for a job, just do what is required in that country and quit moaning about it! (I feel that I am entitled to say just that having sat the full ATPL exams in two different countries. I just got on and did it!)
For reference, I have an airline job, based in the UK... I don't need to do anything to get a job, I have one. I just think its absurd that the CAA take the position they do, it helps no one.
Joined: Dec 2005
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From: Hong Kong
It's absurd that you can have two people flying an identical aircraft on the same day from LHR to JFK yet one requires a CAA licence and one an FAA certificate, simply because of where the aircraft is registered.
Joined: Sep 2018
Posts: 359
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From: Yorkshire
But there are also many many countries that recognize qualifications across borders and that helps to facilitate both ease of recruiting workers and opens up beneficial training opportunities. With reference to pharmacists, accountants and lawyers... of course you need to retrain to work in other countries, regulatory and legal frameworks for those professions vary widely country by country.... when it comes to nurses and doctors, the same applies, and in most cases it is nurses coming from countries with lower standards of training that need to prove they can operate in more highly regulated jurisdictions.
But having sat both (I assume) EASA and CAA ATPLS, you tell me... can you spot the massive difference in standards and regulations that demand that you needed to prove to two different regulators that you can operate under their (presumably) massively different standards and norms? Or did you just participate in a bureaucractic waste of time and money?
Joined: Dec 2005
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From: Hong Kong
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 184
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From: Dubai, once... now London
Stop being so 'precious'!
There are many, many professions where moving from one country to another requires even more than just sitting a few exams! Depending on the country, I know of nurses, pharmacists, accountants and lawyers who face huge retraining and exams to be accepted in another country. If you want to move to another country for a job, just do what is required in that country and quit moaning about it! (I feel that I am entitled to say just that having sat the full ATPL exams in two different countries. I just got on and did it!)
There are many, many professions where moving from one country to another requires even more than just sitting a few exams! Depending on the country, I know of nurses, pharmacists, accountants and lawyers who face huge retraining and exams to be accepted in another country. If you want to move to another country for a job, just do what is required in that country and quit moaning about it! (I feel that I am entitled to say just that having sat the full ATPL exams in two different countries. I just got on and did it!)
Joined: Aug 2022
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
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From: Edinburgh
The rules for these qualifications vary hugely from one country to another: I know of a pharmacist whose qualifications were not accepted in one country but were perfectly acceptable in another (both being highly respected 'first world' countries). Similar happens with other professions. Life is like that.
Joined: Apr 2012
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
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From: N/A
So because you gained your licneses many year ago at a time when everything was much more convoluted and difficult, people should just suck it up and live with it being more convoluted and difficult again for no reason because "how'd ya like them apples"? To be honest, exactly the "I'm old enough for it to not effect me" attitude of the average ignorant Brexiteer... live with it!
Joined: Jun 2000
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
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From: UK
Reciprocity
I think any decision by the UK CAA to recognise EASA licences would need full reciprocity.
The UK behaved in a much more cordial and gown up way than EASA in that the UK recognised EASA licences for 2 years. As far as I know there was nil recognition the other way round. Rather childish I thought.
The UK behaved in a much more cordial and gown up way than EASA in that the UK recognised EASA licences for 2 years. As far as I know there was nil recognition the other way round. Rather childish I thought.
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 178
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From: UK
Then the Conservative government signed up to the Windsor Framework for Northern Ireland which meant that a small number of UK citizens would, for limited purposes, be ultimately subject to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.
Joined: Jun 2001
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
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From: Brit living in Malaysia
From a personnel licensing point of view, I would suggest that the easiest solution is one which is used in most of the rest of the world - an endorsement on one's licence. EASA licence holders would be given a UK CAA endorsement on their EASA licence once they are given a job in UK on a G Reg aircraft. The licence would be for a fixed period (2-3 years) but renewable with contract renewal. But, similarly, that means that UK CAA licence holders would have to be given an EASA endorsement on identical terms if they were offered a job in the EU. Issues such as which TRI/TRE can carry out check/training and on who and in which sim should be fairly simple to resolve. It keeps the UK CAA licence 'sovereign' but gives each host country control over the continued use of the respective licence as it would control the endorsement. It would also keep UK licence holders out of ECJ jurisdiction and allow for a larger/shared pool of pilots to work throughout EU/UK - subject to residency etc. No technical reason for it not to work easily but politics is another matter!
Last edited by BANANASBANANAS; 21st June 2025 at 02:43.
Joined: Dec 2005
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From: Hong Kong
You don't need to be a member of EASA to recognise it. The CAA director (is that a job title?) could determine that an EASA licence is valid in UK aircraft with a stroke of a pen.
Joined: Jul 2024
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From: Outbush
If you are going to base yourself with a local carrier based overseas from where you are, then it’s essential to at least sit a series of conversion exams and a skills test. Maybe not the full 15 exams, but enough to make you competent in your new area of operation
Joined: Jul 2024
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From: Outbush
The problem is, too many regulators appear to act in their own interest rather than in the interests of aviation. In many cases, this may be down to inexperienced staff.
Joined: Dec 2005
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
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From: Hong Kong
Actually it is not. You could be operating said aircraft in a totally different environment. For example, operating an A320 in Europe with almost total radar coverage and in controlled airspace is completely different to operating the A320 in Australia with CTAFs, operating in the open FIR (not in controlled airspace), extreme weather variations on any given day, or operating the same aircraft in Asia.
If you are going to base yourself with a local carrier based overseas from where you are, then it’s essential to at least sit a series of conversion exams and a skills test. Maybe not the full 15 exams, but enough to make you competent in your new area of operation
If you are going to base yourself with a local carrier based overseas from where you are, then it’s essential to at least sit a series of conversion exams and a skills test. Maybe not the full 15 exams, but enough to make you competent in your new area of operation