Are UK airlines pushing for the UK CAA to recognise EASA licences.
 

Hi,

I've heard rumours about the UK CAA recognising EASA Licences in the near future (2026), however I'm not too Sure about how true this is. The rumours I have heard so far is that UK airlines such as EZY are beginning to train their SIM pilots to not only be able to asses UK pilots but also EASA licensed pilots. Obviously, if this is true it does not necessarily mean that the UK CAA will accept EASA licences, but in combination with other rumours from a few reputable sources in EZY/ EJU such as many UK airlines putting pressure on the UK CAA to recognise EASA Licenses, due to the current UK pilot shortage, makes it sound pretty promising. However, I have also heard that there is not a Pilot shortage in the UK, so I'm not too sure what to believe. With aviations current growth, globally and in the UK, with runway expansions in LHR and LGW and increase in demand for pilots I can only assume that the UK will require more pilots than they can currently train. I am currently based in the Europe and have the right to work in Both the UK and Europe, however I only have a EASA Licence and would like to be based in the UK, and therefore feel as though I may be too hopeful when hearing these rumours. Therefore I wanted to ask the community If they have heard any news regarding this.

IMHO that's unlikely to happen unless all EU member states agree to recognise CAA licences – which some of them will refuse to do, for political reasons.

I have read some news articles, and seen that company's such as One Air have pleaded with the UK Gov to take aviation into consideration when making a bilateral agreement between the UK and EU to allow either recognition of the EASA licences or the possibility of a shorter route (a human performance, Airlaw exam and a skill test). This was raised in parliament from a Local MP in September 2024 to which the response was, "There is mutual interest in this area, and it could be a solid basis for negotiation" and that "it is a priority for us". which again seems promising.

The UK could have remained in EASA post Brexit but that would have upset the right wing of the Conservative party.

I can't see it happening anytime soon, so if you want to work in the UK Route 6 is your way (assuming you currently have a non UK ATPL):

https://www.caa.co.uk/commercial-ind...-january-2023/

Another Brexit benefit- a complete and total waste of money what possible use or value was there in not remaining in EASA

It was dogma - EASA is ultimately overseen by a European court, and that was deemed to be unacceptable by the "purist" Brexiteers.

Ho hum.

It's all BS! The regulators, both CAA and EASA in 2008 were happy to exchange UK CAA licences for EASA licences then, just because of Brexit 'Another licence to print money' ha! Another waste of money! It's about time FAA, CAA, EASA in the Northern Hemisphere and the like of CASA and NZ CAA in the Southern Hemisphere sort this out. You have pilots working for Cathay and Emirates and other outfits who's credentials are not even accepted in some of these countries. It costs the individual $$$$ to obtain and jump through all the hoops!!

This isn’t just aviation licences in isolation. This is being looked at as a huge topic involving the acceptance of professional qualifications across many fields. Accountancy, Law, etc.
This is all part of a huge reset in relations between the UK and the EU. It may or may not happen. But even if it does, it doesn’t mean you can come to the UK and work easily, you would still need the right to come and live and work in the UK, similarly with the EU, or national member state.

It won't happen. You can work in EU or UK if you want it's just a paperwork admin exercise now. You would also need either UK or EU to be in desperate short supply of pilots to need the foreign nationals, which there is no short supply. Also, a shortage of pilots is easy enough to spot in the future and training pilots takes 2 years which is probably not much faster than the stupid paperwork to hire a foreign national. So it makes sense to just fund your own pilots rather than sort out visa and licenses for a foreigner.

There is a definite short supply of good quality candidates for both seats. UK airlines are struggling to manage expansion plans and recruit at the same time and lobbying is going on to allow EU licenced people access to the UK employment market without having to jump through all the mess of converting licence. It is likely to be a one way street only as the EU is supposed to not want 'reciprocal rights' but this appeals to the companies and government in the UK as it supresses above inflationary pay rises and terms/conditions, aims to keep inflation low if possible - and also is better for the companies as keeps the bottom line and more profitable operations for them.

Since Brexit the U.K. has allowed lots without reciprocal movement on the EU side , UK doesn’t care about home grown pilots . Ryanair already have pilots flying in the U.K. with ICAO licenses . Well I’d be surprised if they joined EASA in the near future but not surprised if easyJet are allowed to get 2 year validations for EU pilots to work
in the U.K. . It’s all politics for sure but one sided I think

To be fair, there are only 15 or 16 G reg Ryanair 737's operating in the UK, the rest are all EI, 9H or even some SP ones. As to visa's well that's a different matter

I’ve heard the same chatter - some UK airlines are indeed getting their simulator instructors ready to assess EASA pilots, but there’s been no official nod from the CAA yet. It makes sense with the pilot crunch, but until the CAA actually publishes something, it’s still just talk. I’d keep an eye on the CAA news page or drop a line to your training manager for any updates.

Genuine question from an interested PPL with some sim experience (NG and Airbus).

What are the major differences when EU pilots do sim training compared to UK pilots?

And is that a bad thing?
If I want to work for a French Airline I need to speak French, same with Spain, Germany, Italy etc, obviously not having the right to reside and work is an issue.

I wonder what BALPA think?

"What are the major differences when EU pilots do sim training compared to UK pilots?"

Admin only. It's possible that with time the UK CAA might diverge from EASA but right now the content is the same. if you want some light hearted entertainment, download the EASA Differences Document (published quarterly) then choose six different NAAs at random and see how the admin requirements vary for LST or LPC. When working as a TRE in an EASA airline with 20+ nationalities the admin was the most challenging part (along with the fact that frequently I was the only native English speaker in the room and the two candidates could be of different nationalities being examined in their second language with no first language in common!).

Has the new UK EU deal had any impact on cross recognition of licences ?

This would be great also for an (admittedly small) subset of British pilots who trained outside the UK but were unable to qualify in time to take advantage of the transition period to obtain UK CAA licenses without the financial, time and huge effort hit of having to retake basically the entirety of an ATPL licensing course. As one such person, the only benefit of the current situation that I can see is that the CAA get to charge me a large amount of money in exam and admin fees if I ever want to operate a G-reg aircraft commercially, despite the fact that I currently operate EASA reg aircraft commercially out of the UK.

Some people will bleat about how the CAA recognizing EASA licenses gives unfair advantage to Europeans holding them, but does it? Surely the control of labour should be through employment visas, not professional licenses. Any lack of enough British pilots to fill airline positions is almost entirely a result of the prohibitive cost of training in the UK to get a CAA license. The CAA being able to issue a like for like license on the basis of holding an EASA one would allow more Brits to train more cost effectively in Europe, then come back to work in the UK, without having to worry about the cost of "dual licensing" courses.