A "frozen ATPL" is industry shorthand, not an official EASA licence. It means you hold a CPL(A) with a multi-engine Instrument Rating and have passed all 14 ATPL theory exams, which is enough to fly as a first officer for an airline. It "unfreezes" into a full ATPL(A) once you have logged 1,500 hours of flight time that meet specific conditions and passed the ATPL skill test.
What "frozen ATPL" means
No licence card says "frozen ATPL". The term describes a stage: you have completed the ATPL theory and hold the licences below it, so the ATPL waits only on experience. On paper you hold a CPL(A) (Commercial Pilot Licence), a multi-engine Instrument Rating (ME/IR), and credit for all 14 ATPL theory exams. That credit is valid for a limited window, so timing matters.
What you can and cannot fly
| Capacity | Frozen ATPL | Full ATPL |
|---|---|---|
| First officer / co-pilot on a multi-crew airliner | Yes | Yes |
| Pilot in command (captain) of a multi-crew airliner | No | Yes |
| Commercial single-pilot operations (per ratings) | Yes | Yes |
A frozen ATPL is enough to start an airline career in the right-hand seat. Upgrading to captain requires the full ATPL.
How to unfreeze it: the 1,500-hour requirement
To convert to a full ATPL(A) you need 1,500 hours of flight time in aeroplanes, of which up to 100 may be flown in a simulator. Within those hours, you need:
- 500 hours in multi-pilot operations;
- either 500 hours as pilot in command under supervision (PICUS), or 250 hours as pilot in command (PIC), or 250 hours made up of at least 70 hours as PIC and the rest as PICUS;
- 200 hours of cross-country flight, at least 100 of them as PIC or PICUS;
- 75 hours of instrument time, of which no more than 30 may be instrument ground time;
- 100 hours of night flight as PIC or co-pilot.
Once you meet the hours and their conditions, you pass the ATPL skill test and the licence unfreezes. Most first officers get there after a few years of airline flying.
Common misconceptions
- "A frozen ATPL means I can't get a job." It is the qualification airlines hire first officers on.
- "The theory credit lasts forever." ATPL theory credits expire, which is why the order of your CPL/IR and first airline job matters.
- "Unfreezing is a course." It takes an experience threshold and a skill test, with no course involved.
How Veejo helps
The hard part of unfreezing is proving the right hours in the right categories. Keep total time, PIC, PICUS, cross-country, night and instrument time split out as you go, so you know when you cross each threshold and your file is ready for an airline and clean for an audit. The Career Log, coming soon to the Veejo app, will do this tracking for you.
See how pilots track their hours on the Veejo YouTube channel (opens in a new tab).