Delta Air Lines pilot hiring requirements
AirlineUnited StatesNorth AmericaDAL / DL
Registered as Delta Air Lines, Inc..
Verified 15 August 2026
Delta Air Lines is one of the largest US legacy carriers, operating a mainline mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing widebody and narrowbody jets across a global network. It hires experienced first officers directly and also runs the Propel pathway program for current employees and university flight students working toward a Delta job offer.
Applications are made on Delta Air Lines's own site. SkyStudy never collects an application, a document or a fee.
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Vacancies we can see at Delta Air Lines
Nothing from Delta Air Lines is on our board today. That means we are not currently reading an open flight-deck advert from their own careers system, not that they are not hiring: open the official careers page above, which is the only complete list. See what is open at other operators.
What the operator asks for
Minimum requirements on record
Only what Delta Air Lines states publicly. "Not stated" means the operator does not publish that figure, not that there is no requirement, and never that the requirement is zero.
- Licence
- FAA CPLsource
- Total time
- 1,500 hsource
- PIC time
- Not stated
- Multi-engine
- 50 hsource
- Turbine
- Not stated
- On type
- Not stated
- Type rating
- Not stated
- Medical
- Class 1source
- ICAO English
- Not stated
- Age
- 23 minimumsource
- Right to work
- USsource
- Also required
- Current ATP written exam
- Also required
- FCC Radiotelephone Operator's Permit
- Also required
- DOT required pre-employment drug test
- Also required
- International Certificate of Vaccination (Yellow Card) for Yellow Fever
- Also required
- TSA required fingerprint based Criminal History Records Check and a Delta background check
- Also required
- Minimum of 250 hours PIC or SIC as defined in 14 CFR 61.159(a)(5) in an airplane category
- Also required
- 1,000 hours of fixed-wing turbine time preferred, of which at least 500 must be in a non-powered-lift airplane
Any age, nationality, residency, height or vision criterion above is the operator's own stated criterion, quoted from its own page. Some such criteria are lawful where an operator recruits and unlawful elsewhere, including in the EU. SkyStudy reports them factually and does not adopt them as requirements of its own.
Every published profile is checked by hand against the operator's own careers page, and is flagged for a recheck 180 days after that check. Requirements change without notice, so confirm every figure on the operator's own careers page before you apply.
Pay and contract
Contract type: Not stated. Do not assume direct employment; some operators contract through an agency or on a self-employed basis, which changes tax, sick pay and pension entirely.
Pay: Not stated on the operator's own page.
For what pilots earn by region and seat, with its own sources and dates, see the pilot salary guide. Those are market ranges, not an offer from this operator.
Selection process
- 01Documentation reviewApplicants invited to interview must provide documentation of flight hours, FAA certificates, medical certificate and transcripts.
Bases
- Atlanta (ATL)
- Detroit (DTW)
- Minneapolis-St Paul (MSP)
- New York JFK (JFK)
- Salt Lake City (SLC)
Fleet
- Airbus A220
- Airbus A320 family
- Airbus A330
- Airbus A350
- Boeing 717
- Boeing 737
- Boeing 757
- Boeing 767
Worth knowing
Notes on this operator
- ContextDelta's own hiring FAQ asks for an FAA Commercial Pilot Certificate with an instrument rating plus a current ATP written exam, not an ATP certificate. The figures here are from that FAQ.
Provenance
Where each figure came from
Each entry is the sentence the value was read from, on the operator's own site. If a figure here is out of date, the quote is what to check it against.
hours.total
Minimum of 1,500 hours of total documented flight time.
delta.comother
Minimum of 250 hours PIC or SIC...in an airplane category.
delta.comhours.multiEngine
Minimum of 50 hours of multi-engine airplane time.
delta.comother
1,000 hours of fixed-wing turbine time preferred (A minimum of 500 turbine hours must be in a non-powered lift airplane).
delta.comlicence.family
FAA Commercial Pilot Certificate with Instrument - Airplane
delta.comlicence.level
Current ATP written exam.
delta.commedicalClass
Current FAA First Class Medical Certificate.
delta.comageMin
At least 23 years of age.
delta.comrightToWork
Must be legally authorized to work in the US without sponsorship currently and not require future sponsorship.
delta.comother
FCC Radiotelephone Operator's Permit.
delta.com
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Important information
This page is general educational information for student pilots and may be out of date.
Aviation rules, training requirements, costs, medical standards, and exam details change over time and vary by country, authority, and training organisation, so details here may no longer be current or may differ in your case.
Always confirm the current details with your approved training organisation (ATO) and national aviation authority before relying on them.
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Last reviewed July 2026