Becoming an air traffic controller in France: the ICNA exam and ENAC training

Guiding hundreds of aircraft every day, keeping them safely separated, handling arrivals and departures in all weather: air traffic control is one of the most demanding jobs in aviation. In France, most civil controllers are air navigation control engineers (ICNA), civil servants of the Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGAC), trained at the École nationale de l'aviation civile (ENAC) in Toulouse.

A highly selective engineering exam

Entry is by competitive examination. According to CIDJ, the French youth information centre, applications go through the CCINP exam bank shared by many engineering schools. Candidates come from scientific preparatory classes (MP, PC, PSI or MPI) or hold a two-year technical or scientific higher-education diploma. CIDJ also states an age limit of 26 on 1 January of the exam year, and around a hundred places a year.

Beyond the written and oral tests, the job has medical requirements: Onisep, the French public careers information service, points out that excellent eyesight and good general health are required, with regular medical checks throughout one's career.

Three years of paid training

Once admitted, students become trainee civil servants and are paid from their first day at the school. Training lasts three years and alternates theory, simulation and placements. According to CIDJ, placements total about 18 months and include:

• training for a private pilot licence, to understand flying from "the other side of the radio";
• an eight-week stay in an English-speaking country;
• a placement with an airline.

Halfway through, depending on their ranking, students choose their posting: an en-route centre (handling cruising traffic) or an airport. The course confers a master's degree in air traffic management and control. On graduating, ICNAs commit to serving the State for seven years.

A European licence with specific ratings

Air traffic control is governed by Regulation (EU) 2015/340, which harmonises licences across the Union. It sets out two licences: the student air traffic controller licence, held during training, and then the air traffic controller licence.

The licence carries one or more ratings, matching the main types of control:

• Aerodrome Control Visual (ADV) or Aerodrome Control Instrument (ADI);
• Approach Control Procedural (APP) or Approach Control Surveillance (APS);
• Area Control Procedural (ACP) or Area Control Surveillance (ACS).

On top of these come endorsements specific to the unit and sectors where the controller works. The regulation also requires an English language proficiency endorsement of at least Level 4 ("operational") on the International Civil Aviation Organization scale, as well as a Class 3 medical certificate.

On-site qualification: the final step

The diploma alone does not allow anyone to control traffic unsupervised. After school, each new controller trains at their assigned unit under instructors until they obtain the endorsement allowing them to work their sectors. This phase can be lengthy, as every airspace has its own procedures, traffic flows and specific features.

A job built on focus and teamwork

Controllers work in pairs or teams, on rosters covering days, nights and weekends. They must anticipate, decide quickly and communicate clearly, in English as well as French. This level of responsibility explains the rigorous selection and the ongoing medical and language checks throughout a career.

Key points

• Recruitment is through the ICNA competitive exam, open to science graduates with at least two years of higher education.
• Training lasts three years at ENAC, is paid, and includes about 18 months of placements.
• The licence is European (Regulation 2015/340), with ratings by type of control, at least Level 4 English and a Class 3 medical certificate.
• Further training at the assigned unit comes before working unsupervised.

The exact conditions (age, qualifications, number of places) are set every year, so the official exam notice should be checked before applying.