Cabin crew licence
A state licence to act as cabin crew — required in Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Colombia; Europe uses an attestation, the US a certificate.
Definition
A cabin crew licence is a formal licence issued by a national aviation authority that a person must hold to act as cabin crew, obtained by passing an approved course and examination and sometimes a medical. It exists in a minority of jurisdictions, mostly in Latin America: Brazil's ANAC licenses comissários de voo, Mexico's DGAC issues the sobrecargo licence, Chile's DGAC the TCP licence, Colombia's UAEAC its own. Elsewhere the equivalent is different in law — an EASA Cabin Crew Attestation in Europe, an FAA Certificate of Demonstrated Proficiency in the US, and airline-held qualifications under GCAA or DGCA oversight in the Gulf and India.
What it means for you
Where a licence exists, it is a gate to the job: some airlines hire only licensed crew, others run trainee intakes that include the licence course, and a licence from another country is not usually transferable without conversion. Where it does not exist, no one can sell you a cabin crew licence, and courses marketed that way are private training with no legal status — the airline will train you anyway. Check the airline record on this site for what its country actually requires.
In practice
Aeroméxico requires the DGAC sobrecargo licence but trains selected candidates who do not yet hold it; Avianca runs trainee intakes alongside hiring licensed crew; LATAM notes that a local licence such as Chile's DGAC TCP or Brazil's ANAC is required or obtained in training.
Go deeper
Related terms
4 terms- Cabin crew attestationRecruitmentThe EASA Cabin Crew Attestation (CCA): proof you have completed approved initial safety training, required to fly for any EU airline.
- Initial trainingSafety & trainingThe four-to-eight-week course that turns a successful candidate into a licensed, type-qualified cabin crew member.
- FAARegulationThe Federal Aviation Administration — US regulator whose Part 121 rules govern flight attendant training, duty and rest at US airlines.
- EASARegulationEuropean Union Aviation Safety Agency — the EU regulator whose Air Operations rules set cabin crew training, attestation and duty limits.