010 ATPL subject guide
Air Law
Air Law is one of the first ATPL subjects many students tackle because it establishes the rulebook for the rest of training.
- Subject code
- 010
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Key topics
- 3
Worked example questions
Independently authored revision questions in the same multiple-choice format as the exam. Try each one before opening the answer.
Worked example: what Class F adds over Class G
Not quite. The correct answer is B.
Correct answer: B
- A. Guaranteed separation only exists in controlled airspace. Neither F nor G, being uncontrolled, provides separation as of right.
- B. Correct. This extra advisory layer for IFR traffic is exactly what Class F adds over Class G, on top of the flight information service both classes still give to everyone.
- C. This service exists in both Class F and Class G, so it cannot be the thing that tells the two classes apart.
- D. Neither class requires a clearance, since both are uncontrolled by definition. This option quietly turns Class F into controlled airspace, which contradicts the premise.
Step by step
- Anchor on what uncontrolled means here: no clearance requirement, true of both Class F and Class G.
- Recall what both still receive regardless: a flight information service is available in each.
- Isolate the one extra layer that only Class F has: an advisory service for IFR traffic, offered where practicable, which Class G does not provide at all.
- The option describing that single extra, IFR-only advisory layer is the correct answer.
Worked example: reading a ground-to-air visual signal
Not quite. The correct answer is B.
Correct answer: B
- A. That message is carried by a different symbol. V specifically calls for help, so reading it as "all well" reverses its meaning.
- B. Correct. V is the standard ground-to-air symbol for a general request for help.
- C. That more specific, more urgent message uses a different symbol, X. V is the general call for help, not the medical one.
- D. That describes an intention to stay put, which is a different category of message from a request for help, and is not what the V symbol conveys.
Step by step
- Recognise the format: ground-to-air visual signals use standard letter or symbol shapes laid out with any available material, read from the air.
- Recall what the letter V represents in that standard code: a general request for assistance.
- Distinguish it from the more specific X, which requests medical assistance, and from symbols describing movement or intentions rather than a need for help.
- V therefore reads simply as a request for assistance.
What this subject asks of you
It rewards repetition, careful reading, and precision with categories, privileges, minima, and responsibilities.
What the paper tests
Regulation-heavy memory workWhy it matters
You are expected to recognise the exact wording behind licensing rules, airspace structures, ATC services, and operational obligations without mixing ICAO concepts with local authority wording.Best next step
Use timed practice and spaced recall together so weak areas come back before they decay.
Compare ATPL subject difficulty
Compare ATPL subject difficulty
Key topics
SERA, flight rules, and airspace classification
Licensing, medicals, and privilege limitations
ATC services, clearances, and separation responsibilities
How to study it
- Turn numeric limits, airspace classes, and authority names into flashcards you review repeatedly.
- Group rules by operational scenario so each fact is attached to a cockpit context rather than a loose list.
- Use short, frequent sessions instead of occasional long revision blocks because Air Law is recall-heavy.
Where Air Law candidates lose marks
Common traps
- Mixing ICAO baseline rules with local CAA implementation details without checking the question wording.
- Confusing similar licence, rating, and medical validity periods.
- Answering from intuition instead of from the exact legal definition the syllabus expects.
The hardest Air Law exam areas
Where candidates actually lose marks in 010, and why.
The separation and information service attached to each airspace class
Candidates learn the seven classes as a flat list and lose marks the moment a stem isolates one cell of the table, because neighbouring classes such as C, D and E share almost every property and differ in exactly one detail that only careful comparison catches.Matching a described scenario to the correct SAR alerting phase
INCERFA, ALERFA and DETRESFA are easy to name but the stems are written right on the boundary between plain uncertainty and justified alarm, so a candidate who has only memorised the three labels without their specific triggers ends up guessing.Attributing a rule to the right ICAO annex or convention
Air Law spans a wide set of ICAO annexes and conventions that each cover one narrow slice of the subject, and a question often hinges on knowing which document a rule sits in as much as knowing the rule itself, so a correct fact attached to the wrong source still loses the mark.
Frequently asked questions
Is ATPL Air Law mostly memorisation?
Is ATPL Air Law mostly memorisation?
How should I revise Air Law for ATPL?
How should I revise Air Law for ATPL?
Air Law topic deep dives
Air Law topic deep dives
Focused guides to the 010 topics students search for most, each with a fully worked example and the common mistakes.
Topic guide
Airspace Classes A to G
A clear guide to SERA airspace classes A to G for ATPL Air Law: separation and information services by class, where VFR is allowed, and a worked example.
Read the guideTopic guide
Right-of-Way Rules in the Air
Master ATPL right-of-way rules for Air Law: converging, head-on and overtaking geometry, the priority ladder between aircraft types, and a worked example.
Read the guideTopic guide
Alerting Phases: INCERFA, ALERFA, DETRESFA
The three ATPL SAR alerting phases explained: what triggers INCERFA, ALERFA and DETRESFA, who declares each one, and a worked scenario-matching example.
Read the guideTopic guide
Licences, Ratings and Medical Validity
How ATPL licences, ratings and medical certificates interlock: matching medical class to privileges, and revalidation against renewal.
Read the guideFree tools for this subject
Free tools for this subject
Practise what Air Law tests, free and without an account.
Free tool
EASA Currency and Expiry Tracker
Air Law's licensing and privilege questions turn on validity periods. Track medical, class and type ratings, the instrument rating, language proficiency and the 90-day recent experience window against Part-FCL and Part-MED.
Open the toolFree tool
Night Flight Time Calculator
Air Law defines night by civil twilight, not the clock. Work out loggable night time for a sector under the EASA definition and see why two flights on the same route can differ.
Open the toolQuestion bank
Practice Air Law questions
Exam-style 010 Air Law questions with explanations, spaced repetition, and timed mock exams. Free to start.
Start practisingRelated ATPL subjects
Related ATPL subjects
Subjects that overlap with Air Law. Revise them together to reinforce the shared concepts.
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IFR Communications
Study ATPL IFR Communications with a guide to phraseology, clearances, abnormal situations, and radio discipline for instrument flight operations.
Open subject guideRelated guides
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Read guideTurn Air Law revision into actual practice.
The SkyStudy question bank turns Air Law revision into practice.
Exam-style questions, mock exams, spaced repetition and progress tracking.
Subject knowledge becomes exam performance instead of passive reading.