Do you have the quick reactions and cool head required to pilot an A320 full of passengers?

Amid an ongoing pilot shortage and drive to get more people in the cockpit, one budget airline has sought to make its latest recruitment drive more fun.

EasyJet has launched two online tests to mimic the skills required of an airline pilot.

One is tuned up to test the quick reactions of would-be airline aces. The second is to test one’s sense of direction - a vital skill when it comes to manoeuvring an 80-tonne twin-jet passenger plane. (Try both here!)

The airline said the tests were designed to show how few people understand the job and the qualifications required to become an airline pilot.

EasyJet has opened online skill testing to the public, to drive pilot recruitment. Photo / EasyJet

The games are part of the carrier’s drive to recruit 200 additional pilots via their “Generation EasyJet Pilot Training Programme”, which begins next month.

Challenging pilots’ reactions while matching symbols and testing their sense of orientation, the games are designed to show trained skills are just as important as qualifications.

Although the training and exams are famously arduous, those looking to become pilots do not require higher education or a university degree to begin training.

With starting salaries of up to $58,000 rising to $148,000 for a senior airline pilot, it’s not a bad career trajectory.

According to the Tertiary Education Commission’s careers website, the only qualification necessary to apply for a place on a pilot-training programme is NCEA Level 3, though having an aptitude for subjects including English, mathematics and physics is preferable.

Surprisingly, having near-perfect 20/20 vision is not a requirement for training to be a pilot.

While the average training period is two to three years - the commission claims the job prospects are excellent due to a global skills shortage for trained pilots.

Other attention-grabbing stunts included suspending an Airbus A320-rated pilot from a billboard on London’s Southbank. This shows the lengths EasyJet is having to go to increase the pool of trainee pilots.

Demographics continue to be the biggest challenge to recruitment drives.

Firstly, the average age of pilots keeps climbing, with a tidal wave of retirements set to affect the industry if more pilots cannot be trained.

In 2023, NZ CAA reported the average age of Kiwi pilots increased from 38 to 42 in the last 10 years. A number of registered pilots - recreational and professional - are well into their 70s.

EasyJet pilot Captain Sarah Ackerley spent a morning strapped to a London billboard as part of a recruitment drive to address a global pilot skills shortage. Photo / EasyJet

CAA flight examiner Brendon Bourne says while senior pilots are a “valuable resource” for the culture, there was an urgent need to recruit more certified pilots at the beginning of their career.

Another key demographic hurdle is the fact almost 96 per cent of pilots are men.

Worldwide, women account for 4 per cent of pilots and 3 per cent of engineers in the aviation industry. Getting more women on the path to a private pilot’s licence will not only help address the ageing workforce, but address many cultural issues stemming from what is seen as an “old man’s profession”.

Last year, the CAPA Centre for Aviation reported international airlines will have to attract 7 to 9 per cent more pilots a year to keep up with demand.

According to Boeing, Airbus and the flight training provider CAE, Asia-Pacific is set to see the biggest skill shortage, relying on trained Kiwi pilots and flight captains imported from the rest of the world.

This story was originally published on the Herald, here