Pilot licence applications now available online

Private pilots’ licences (PPL) can now be applied for online, following a move by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to improve the way it handles transactions. Trainee aeroplane and helicopter pilots who have successfully completed their training courses can, from today, complete the remaining application process on the CAA’s website. Applicants for Light Aircraft Pilots’ Licences (LAPL) and Flight Radiotelephony Operator’s licences can also use this form to make their applications.

As part of the new procedure, applicants will be able to attach an electronic verification form supplied by their flying school, rather than having to submit their physical logbooks; a requirement of the current paper-based application process.

The move is part of a wider programme by the CAA to provide products and services electronically for the commercial and private aviation sectors to ensure applicants for licences, certificates and approvals, receive a more efficient and consistent service.

Commercial and private pilots can now also apply online to convert their existing ‘national’ or ‘JAR’ licences into the European equivalent, something they are obliged to do to continue flying aircraft certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) beyond the relevant deadlines. The forms can be found at www.caa.co.uk/commercialpilots and www.caa.co.uk/privatepilots.

These new electronic application forms are complemented by enhanced guidance on the CAA website, and add to an expanding online bank of electronic licensing and airworthiness application forms.

The CAA has worked with pilot representative groups, such as the Aircraft Operators and Pilots Association (AOPA) and the British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA), to ensure the online application concept and process meets the requirements of its users, and will continue to do so as further online forms are developed.

The CAA said it was committed to reducing the number of existing paper-based forms into fewer online applications, simplifying the process for licence holders. More forms will go online over the coming weeks.