Wizz Air · Cadet / ab initio

Cadet Pilot Programme - Wizz Air Pilot Academy

Wizz Air runs a full ab initio training programme for people with little or no previous aviation experience. The course leads to a Commercial Pilot's Licence and the prospect of a pilot job at Wizz Air on its Airbus A320 and A321 fleet.

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Employer: Wizz Air
Position: Cadet / ab initio
Base: Bases Wizz Air en Europe (Albanie, Arménie, Bosnie-Herzégovine, Bulgarie, Géorgie, Hongrie, Macédoine du Nord, Pologne, Roumanie, Serbie)
Aircraft: Airbus A320 et A321
Contract: Contrat à durée indéterminée (après formation)
Pay (public sources): No official scale published; Hungarian press cites about €3,500–6,500 per month for first officers and about €9,000–15,000 per month for captains at Wizz Air Hungary, excluding allowances (2025)
Seen: 8 October 2026

Key points

Ab initio training through to a Commercial Pilot's Licence
Covers the Airbus A320 and A321 fleet
Aim is a pilot role at Wizz Air after training
Operational base chosen during the application process
Open to candidates with little or no prior aviation experience

What the employer asks for

Based in, and with unrestricted right to live and work in, a country with a Wizz Air operational base (Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Hungary, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania or Serbia)
Minimum high school diploma
Minimum age of 18
Fluent English, written and spoken
Able to swim 50 metres unaided

What the employer offers

High-quality training delivered with an experienced flight school to Wizz Air's training standards
Indefinite, secure contract once employed
Flexible and fixed flight rosters for work-life balance
Competitive salaries

Summary written by ForAllPilots from the employer's posting. Only the official posting counts: check every condition before you apply.

Low-cost medium-haul

Wizz Air at a glance

The largest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, based in Budapest, with an extensive network of bases across Europe and in the Middle East (Abu Dhabi).

Bases: Budapest (main), many bases in Central and Eastern Europe
Fleet: Airbus A320/A321 (including A321neo and A321XLR)

Pilot recruitment

100% Airbus A320/A321 family fleet. Offers a “Wizz Air Pilot Cadet Programme” leading to a first officer position for candidates with no airline experience, in addition to recruiting pilots who are already qualified. Rapid fleet growth in recent years, hence sustained recruitment needs.

The full Wizz Air guide →

Pay and conditions, from public sources

Figures published by the airline, pilot unions or the press, each one dated (last update: October 2026). For information only.

Pay (Wizz Air Hungary): Hungarian press quotes roughly €3,500–6,500 per month for a first officer and €9,000–15,000 per month for a captain, without saying gross or net; the figures come from a specialist website, not an official scale (September 2025).
Variable pay: the same source mentions a distance allowance of €0.02–0.04 per kilometre and about €12 per landing, on top of layover allowances (September 2025).
Bonuses advertised by the airline: a retention bonus after three years of up to €25,000 for FO/SFO and €40,000 for captains, plus a sign-on bonus of up to €10,000 at selected bases (October 2026).
Roster patterns offered depending on base: 5/4, 14/7, 15/15, 20/10 'floating' with hotel and daily allowance, reverse patterns, or flexible options; 14/7 commuters get two free commuting trips per month (October 2026).
Three AOCs (Hungary, Malta, UK) with dozens of bases across Central and Eastern Europe, Italy, Spain and London (Gatwick, Luton); hiring ranges from cadets to direct-entry captains (October 2026).
Direct-entry captain: at least 3,500 'factorised' hours, for example with 500 h on the A320 and 1,000 h as PIC on fly-by-wire Airbus for type-rated applicants (October 2026).
Experienced first officer: at least 500 h on the A320 (simulator excluded) if type-rated, or 500 h on a multi-pilot aircraft in commercial operations otherwise; cadets are accepted with 140 h (integrated) or 200 h (modular) (October 2026).
Wizz Air Pilot Academy: 18 months of training for €61,460, of which €13,950 is paid upfront and the rest repaid monthly after release as first officer; €130 selection fee; employment is not guaranteed (brochure, 2025).
Selection: online form, then booking an assessment event; for the academy, online aptitude and psychological tests, then a group exercise and interview in Budapest (October 2026).

Sources read (3)

Compare pilot pay at other airlines →

The Wizz Air selection, as candidates tell it

What candidates report on forums (Aeronet, Pilot Jobs Network) and what the employer publishes, summarised by ForAllPilots. It is not the official process: it changes from one campaign to the next, always check the posting.

Reliability of the reports : high

The stages

Type-rated pilots and graduate cadets (consistent accounts from July and September 2025): invitation sometimes with only a few days' notice, candidate guide sent in advance (suit and tie, complete and valid licences and logbooks, otherwise immediate elimination).
Day 1, morning: welcome, document check and company presentation (bases, contracts, salaries, type rating funding); then a multiple-choice test of about 50 to 60 questions in 1 h (ATPL, Wizz culture, maths/logic; A320 systems for type-rated pilots) and a group exercise of about 15 min in sub-groups of 5-6; results announced straight afterwards.
Day 1, afternoon: individual interview of 20 to 40 min with two training captains (and an HR representative), mixing HR and technical questions; email the same evening about the next stage.
Day 2: A320 simulator in pairs (fixed-base or full motion depending on the centre), about 30 min PF and 30 min PM each, after a briefing of about 1 h on the criteria; candidates are sifted the same day.
Stage 4: Symbiotics psychometric tests of about 3 h, on site or online from home with webcam supervision (slot to be booked within 10 days); final answer within a few hours to 2 weeks. Centres reported: Budapest, Bucharest.
After passing: waiting in a pool (from 2 weeks to over a year), valid for one year; late negative decisions reported in 2026 despite stages having been passed.
Pilot Academy (ab initio cadets): application screening, TestAir 360 online aptitude test, psychological assessment, then a group exercise and interview in Budapest.

The aptitude tests

Symbiotics (2025, two accounts): FAST test (15 min), reasoning and cognition (calculation, memory, logic, 30 min), CRM test of cockpit situations with 4 answers (45 min), personality questionnaire (60 min). Candidates found them markedly easier than the Air France PSY1, the DLR or the BQ.
Technical multiple-choice test: a question bank from which an algorithm draws 60 questions, very operational (regulations, principles of flight, flight planning, meteorology, human factors); a few questions about the company (CEO, fleet, bases, first flight).
TestAir 360 (cadets): hand-eye coordination, visual memory, mental arithmetic, maths, physics and English.

The technical part

Questions reported in 2025: write out the day's METAR and its order, CAVOK, mist and fog, decision if the RVR drops below minimum at the holding point or on approach (before and after the FAP), RVSM, A320 flight control laws and protections, dual hydraulic failures and braking, icing, runway zones, critical engine, CRM.
CRM scenario: a captain who insists on smoking with the window open during taxi; what to do and whether a report is required.
Simulator (A320 type-rated, 2025): take-off without a SID, climb to 4000 ft, disconnecting and reconnecting the automation, 30° and 45° turns, TCAS with autopilot unavailable, radial interception, briefed hold, raw-data ILS; as PF, engine fire with ECAM actions and a manual single-engine ILS, then an evacuation decision. Non-type-rated: take-off without FMA, level-off, turns, radial, hold, ILS.

Candidates' tips

Examiners dig into a subject until you reach your limit: say clearly when you do not know rather than making something up; about 70% correct answers is apparently enough according to one successful candidate.
In the simulator, they assess tracking accuracy, the go-around decision, structured failure management and the ICAO competencies; landings and checklists count for little.
Group exercise: the solution is often impossible to find; what matters is sharing information and building together.
For the psychometric tests, one to three weeks of practice is enough depending on your level; do the official FAST, which differs from other platforms.
Show that you intend to stay and become a captain: the loyalty question comes up in every interview.

Our exercises to prepare

Sources read (10)

Give yourself every chance

A cadet selection mostly assesses your potential: aptitude tests (attention, mental arithmetic, spatial orientation, memory), English, then a motivation interview and often a group exercise.

Practise the aptitude tests regularly, in short sessions, and track your scores: progress is what counts, not a cramming week.

Revise the theory basics (meteorology, navigation, principles of flight): many selections touch on them, and you will need them from day one of training.

Practise the aptitude tests →Over twenty exercises (multitasking, mental arithmetic, cubes, orientation, CUT E, COMPASS and DLR series), scored and tracked over time. (FR)Revise the ATPL theory →The question bank by subject, mock exams and the AI Instructor to prepare the technical test.Prepare the interview with Selection Coaching →A written mock selection interview with an AI panel (beta), technical and HR. It does not guarantee the result of a real selection.The Wizz Air guide: recruitment, fleet, bases →What to know about the airline before you apply.

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