The answer is yes - you can wear glasses and be an airline pilot - you don't need to have perfect vision. However you are required to have a certain standard of vision as outlined below.
The standards vary from country to country so If in any doubt, you should contact an Authorised Medical Examiner (AME) in the country that you anticipate completing your flight training in.
'An applicant may be assessed as fit with hypermetropia not exceeding +5.0 dioptres, myopia not exceeding -6.0 dioptres, astigmatism not exceeding 2.0 dioptres, and anisometropia not exceeding 2.0 dioptres, provided that optimal correction has been considered and no significant pathology is demonstrated. Monocular visual acuities should be 6/6 or better.'
Distant visual acuity, with or without correction, shall be 6/9 or better monocularly, and 6/6 or better binocularly.
Initial applicants who do not meet these requirements in should be referred to the licensing authority. A fit assessment may be considered following review by an ophthalmologist.
You will require a comprehensive ophthalmological examination on your initial assessment then every 5 years up to your 40th Birthday and then every 2 years.
- Pilots are required to carry a spare pare of spectacles
- Pilots are not allowed to wear polarised glasses
- Bifocal contact lenses are not approved
