Airline minima

Do not apply if the advert already said no.

Height, BMI, age, vision, English, hours, passport — typical bars from published cadet and FO ads. The live careers page is the only source. This is a ‘do not waste the fee’ sheet, not a medical and not a job offer.

Height mark in an empty assessment hangar

Height and reach

If you cannot push full rudder, lock the harness, and reach the overhead on that type, the advert’s centimetres do not matter. Ask for a cockpit seating if you are close to a published floor or ceiling.

BMI

Few FO ads publish a number. Cadet schemes sometimes imply a healthy range (often talked about as roughly 18–28). The Class 1 can pass while the airline still says no. Measure, don’t guess.

Vision

Class 1 with correction is usually acceptable. Uncorrected limits, radial keratotomy, and recent LASIK have waiting periods. Colour: pass an accepted operational test, not only Ishihara in a pharmacy.

English

ICAO Level 4 keeps you legal. Gulf and European boards listen for 5–6: rate, pronunciation, and whether you can hold a technical briefing when tired.

Hours

A CPL is not a first-officer job. Frozen ATPL + MCC + type is the usual European/Gulf paper. The US wants ATP hours. Buying a type without a letter is how ratings go stale.

BMI (yourself)

In proportion — measure it.

Cadet ads sometimes imply a healthy range, often talked about as roughly 18–28. A Class 1 can pass while an airline still says no. This is arithmetic, not a verdict.

HeightcmWeightkg

BMI

23.5

Emirates / EFTA cadet

Gulf

Age: Cadet ads often 18–26/28. Direct-entry FO is a different advert.
Height / BMI: Must operate all controls. Some ads cite ~160–190 cm. BMI ‘in proportion’ — not a cabin-crew reach test.
Vision: Class 1. Correction usually allowed. Colour perception must pass an accepted operational test.
English: ICAO 4 is legal. Assessment and interview run at 5–6.
Hours: Ab initio cadet: none. DEFO: frozen ATPL + type, often 1,500+ or a stated jet minimum.
Passport: Must be able to live and work in the UAE. Many intakes are nationality-filtered. Read the live careers page.

An EFTA brochure is not a contract. Height/BMI are screening, not the medical.

Qatar Airways cadet / DEFO

Gulf

Age: Cadet ads often 18–28. Check the current intake PDF.
Height / BMI: Historically a height band around 157 cm and up, plus cockpit reach. Weight in proportion.
Vision: Class 1. Uncorrected limits are airline-specific — the Class 1 pass is not enough if the advert sets a tighter bar.
English: ICAO 4 minimum. Selection is conducted in English.
Hours: Cadet: school-leaver or graduate as advertised. DEFO: frozen ATPL, MCC, type as stated.
Passport: Unrestricted passport is a recurring line. Some passports never see the shortlist.

Qatar publishes requirements per intake. Screenshot the PDF the day you apply.

Etihad cadet / DEFO

Gulf

Age: Cadet: typically early 20s window. DEFO follows the FO advert.
Height / BMI: Cockpit reach. Some historic ads ~165 cm. BMI in a healthy range.
Vision: GCAA Class 1 or as stated.
English: ICAO 4; interview higher.
Hours: Cadet ab initio or DEFO with type. Do not buy an A320 rating to ‘look ready’.
Passport: UAE work eligibility. Nationality filters apply.

Same rule as the others: careers.etihad, not a Facebook flyer.

Oman Air / Oman Aviation Academy paths

Gulf

Age: Cadet windows are narrow and local. Direct entry follows the FO advert.
Height / BMI: Class 1 plus cockpit reach. No cabin-crew 160 cm myth — this is a flight-deck seat.
Vision: CAA Oman / GCAA-style Class 1 as specified.
English: ICAO 4. Gulf ops want 5.
Hours: Cadet or frozen ATPL + type. Omani / GCC preference is real on cadet schemes.
Passport: Omani and GCC passports are advantaged. Others convert later, they do not cadet first.

If the careers page is silent, there is no intake. Waiting is not a plan.

PIA / Pakistani operators

South Asia

Age: Follow the current PCAA / operator advert. Cadet ages are tight.
Height / BMI: Historic height floors exist (often mid-160s cm in older ads). Confirm the live notice.
Vision: PCAA Class 1.
English: ICAO 4. Airline interview in English.
Hours: CPL/IR on a PCAA file, or frozen ATPL if they say so. Hours on paper will be checked against the logbook.
Passport: Pakistani licence plus the medical. Conversion is a second career if you want the Gulf.

A PIA cadet rumour is not an opening. Screenshot the official notice.

IndiGo / Indian operators

South Asia

Age: DGCA + operator. Cadet/CPL schemes publish their own caps.
Height / BMI: DGCA Class 1. Height/BMI as the operator states — often proportionate, not a cabin reach test.
Vision: DGCA Class 1, including colour vision.
English: ICAO 4. RTR(A) sits beside the licence in India.
Hours: DGCA CPL minimums are not airline minimums. Operators add type, simulator, and PIC.
Passport: Indian CPL is a DGCA career unless you budget EASA/GCAA conversion.

Do not confuse a type-rating mill with an airline cadet.

EASA / UK first officer (typical)

Europe

Age: ATPL unfreeze 21. Cadet schemes set their own upper age.
Height / BMI: Class 1. Reach to operate the type. No single Europe-wide height number.
Vision: EASA Class 1. Correction allowed within the certificate.
English: ELP 4 to fly. Airlines hire 5–6.
Hours: Frozen ATPL, MCC/APS, type. Unfreeze at 1,500 hours for command later.
Passport: Right to live and work in that country. A licence without a visa is a souvenir.

Ryanair, easyJet, BA, Lufthansa — each PDF is the law for that scheme.

US regional / major FO

United States

Age: ATP 23 for unrestricted. R-ATP can be younger with an approved degree / military path.
Height / BMI: FAA first-class medical. Cockpit reach on type.
Vision: First class. Distant 20/20 each eye, corrected. Colour as required.
English: English proficient per FAA. Airline interview is still a language test.
Hours: ATP 1,500. R-ATP 1,000 / 1,250 / 750 only on the specific approved path.
Passport: Work authorisation. TSA. A 61.75 piggyback is not an ATP.

Regionals hire the ATP, not the Instagram multi-engine.

Advertised bars change by intake. Screenshot the PDF the day you apply. Cabin-crew height rules are not FO rules. Cadet programmes · Legal