Can you wear glasses as a pilot?

You can also wear glasses in the cockpit

Myopia or farsightedness is not a hindrance to piloting an airplane. However, your ametropia must remain within limits and your other eyesight must not be impaired.

• Even if you wear glasses or contact lenses, you can be trained to be a pilot. When it comes to the approved degree of your ametropia, the regulations of the airlines are not entirely uniform; As a rule, however, you can assume that you have a slight nearsightedness or farsightedness of up to +/- three dioptres and one astigmatism (corneal curvature) up to two dioptres approved for training will.
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• With a higher ametropia up to a limit of +/- five dioptres and an astigmatism A case-by-case check is usually carried out by the medical service of the two diopters Airline company.
• Even if you have an even higher level of ametropia, you don't have to put your dream of being a pilot aside. Most airlines also accept applicants who have had laser surgery because of their ametropia. The prerequisite, however, is that the operation was performed a long time ago (usually a year) and was inconspicuous.
• However, if you have other visual impairments that cannot be corrected with glasses or surgery, you have little chance of becoming a professional pilot. These include deficits in spatial perception and color ametropia such as red-green blindness.


Requirements as a pilot - this is how you become a commercial pilot

Pilot is still a dream job for many young people. But unlike the ...

Become a pilot - additional physical requirements

Good eyesight is only one small aspect of qualifying for pilot training. If you are interested in this profession, other physical factors come into play.

• Only people who are between 165 and 198 centimeters tall and of normal weight are allowed to apply.
• Overall, you should be in good physical shape. In particular, you must not have heart problems or abnormal blood pressure. Your hearing must also be good. Since the job of a flight captain is also physically demanding, you should also have a certain level of fitness.
• Whether you are completely healthy is tested during the aptitude test, which usually lasts several days, during a medical medical examination. Most airlines do a drug test using a hair sample.

Expertise and personal skills

In the aptitude test, you must also prove your specialist knowledge in relevant areas and a large number of skills and personality traits.

• The language used in international air traffic is English. As an applicant, you must therefore have a sound knowledge of this foreign language. You should also be good at maths and physics, have a technical understanding and be able to think logically.
• Don't worry, you don't have to be a high-flyer to meet these requirements. Solid knowledge at the level of the upper secondary school is sufficient. If you want to check whether your knowledge is sufficient, you can do a short one on the Lufthansa website Online test do. After your application has been accepted, the airlines will send you further materials or an access code for online coaching so that you can prepare for the aptitude test.
• You should also master so-called “operational” skills, which are indispensable for every flight captain. This includes a very good ability to concentrate, spatial orientation and the ability to multitask, i.e. to cope with different tasks at the same time.
• The airline companies also attach great importance to personality traits such as pronounced emotional stability, social skills, ability to work in a team and leadership potential.

Who can apply?

If you want to train to become a flight captain, you must also meet the formal criteria.

• Most airlines require you to be at least 17 years old when you apply.
• German citizenship is not required to apply to a German airline. However, you must either come from an EU country or have an unlimited residence permit for the Federal Republic of Germany.
• You must be in possession of a passport valid for all countries.
• The general or subject-specific higher education entrance qualification or an equivalent foreign qualification required. Younger applicants who have not yet graduated from high school must submit the 11th grade certificate to their application. Class (at the G8 grammar school) or the 12th. Enclose class (for the G9 branch).
• The technical college entrance qualification is only sufficient if you have already completed the intermediate diploma at a technical college or university or if you have a minimum of 60 to 80 credit points in yours studies achieved.
• Your behavior in traffic also plays a role in the approval for pilot training. You may have a maximum of three points in the Central Traffic Register in Flensburg, which may not include an entry for the consumption of drugs or alcohol.
• Some airlines also require an impeccable police clearance certificate.

The demands of the demanding profession of pilot are high, but not insurmountable. Good luck with the application!