UK CAA recency requirements: FCL.060 recent experience explained
Checked against the sources below on 12 November 2026. How these guides are written
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Under UK Part-FCL FCL.060(b) you may not fly commercial air transport or carry passengers as pilot in command or co-pilot unless you have flown 3 takeoffs, approaches and landings in the preceding 90 days, in an aircraft of the same type or class or a full flight simulator (FFS) of it. As pilot in command at night you also need 1 takeoff, approach and landing at night as pilot flying in the preceding 90 days, unless you hold an instrument rating. UK law has defined night as half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise since 31 December 2020.
- CAT or passengers, PIC or co-pilot
- 3 takeoffs, approaches and landings
- Preceding 90 days, same type or class or its FFS
- UK FCL.060(b)(1)
- PIC at night
- 1 takeoff, approach and landing at night as pilot flying, or hold an IR
- Preceding 90 days
- UK FCL.060(b)(2)
- Cruise relief co-pilot
- Meet (b)(1), or 3 sectors as cruise relief pilot, or FFS refresher training
- Preceding 90 days
- UK FCL.060(b)(3)
- CAT extension
- Line flying under a TRI or TRE
- Up to 120 days
- UK FCL.060(c)(1)
Carrying passengers: FCL.060(b)(1)
"A pilot shall not operate an aircraft in commercial air transport or to carry passengers: (1) as PIC or co-pilot unless he/she has carried out, in the preceding 90 days, at least 3 take-offs, approaches and landings in an aircraft of the same type or class or an FFS representing that type or class. The 3 take-offs and landings shall be performed in either multi-pilot or single-pilot operations, depending on the privileges held by the pilot".
Only a full flight simulator counts, and recency is held for each type or class. Where you may fly more than one aeroplane type with similar handling, FCL.060(b)(4) lets the 3 takeoffs, approaches and landings be flown as the operational suitability data for those types set out.
The UK wording of (b)(1) does not include the words "as a pilot flying" that the current EASA text has, while the night rule in (b)(2) does. Check your operator's procedures before you count landings you flew as pilot monitoring.
Night: FCL.060(b)(2) and the UK definition
As pilot in command at night you must either have "carried out in the preceding 90 days at least 1 take-off, approach and landing at night as a pilot flying in an aircraft of the same type or class or an FFS representing that type or class", or hold an instrument rating (IR).
UK FCL.010 defines night as "the time from half an hour after sunset until half an hour before sunrise (both times inclusive), sunset and sunrise being determined at surface level". Regulation 310(3) of S.I. 2019/645 put those words in place of the EU civil-twilight definition from 31 December 2020.
The two definitions give different answers. In the UK, civil twilight usually ends more than half an hour after sunset, so a landing between the two times is night under UK law but not under the civil-twilight rule. At lower latitudes civil twilight ends sooner, and a landing soon after it ends can be civil-twilight night but not yet UK night.
Commercial air transport and cruise relief
"In the case of commercial air transport, the 90-day period prescribed in subparagraphs (b)(1) and (2) above may be extended up to a maximum of 120 days, as long as the pilot undertakes line flying under the supervision of a type rating instructor or examiner." A pilot who does not meet that completes a training flight with a qualified instructor, in the aircraft or an FFS of the type, covering at least (b)(1) and (2) (FCL.060(c)(2)).
A cruise relief co-pilot meets (b)(1), or has flown "at least 3 sectors as a cruise relief pilot on the same type or class of aircraft" in the preceding 90 days, or has done recency and refresher training in an FFS "at intervals not exceeding 90 days" (FCL.060(b)(3)).
Mistakes pilots make
- Using civil twilight as night. UK FCL.010 night runs from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise.
- Counting landings in another type or class. FCL.060 counts the same type or class, or an FFS of it.
- Counting a training device that is not a full flight simulator.
- Flying passengers at night as PIC on day landings alone without a valid IR.
- Assuming the UK and EASA texts match word for word. The numbers agree, but the night definition and the pilot flying wording in (b)(1) differ.
What Off Chocks tracks
- Counts 3 takeoffs and 3 landings in 90 days for each type or class you fly, cited to UK Part-FCL FCL.060(b)(1).
- Counts the 1 night takeoff and landing in 90 days, and shows you as current at night through your IR when you hold one.
- Counts night landings by civil twilight, the night the app logs, and not by the UK half hour. In the UK that counts a little less night than UK law does; at low latitudes it can count a landing as night that UK law does not, so check those landings.
- Lets you edit each rule: the counts, the window, which aircraft and simulators count, whether it tracks per type, class or category, and the warning time. An edited rule shows Edited, and one tap resets it to the UK CAA rule.
- Gives GCAA (UAE) pilots the same two rules, cited to CAR-FCL FCL.060.
- Prints your logbook in the EASA-style layout. There is no UK printed layout, licence progress bars are not available for the UK CAA yet, and the app does not model the 120-day CAT extension or the cruise relief rules.
Common questions
- How many landings do I need to carry passengers in the UK?
- 3 takeoffs, approaches and landings in the preceding 90 days, in an aircraft of the same type or class or a full flight simulator representing it (UK FCL.060(b)(1)).
- Is UK FCL.060 the same as EASA FCL.060?
- The numbers are the same: 3 in 90 days to carry passengers, and 1 at night as PIC unless you hold an IR. The UK text defines night as half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise, and its (b)(1) does not say "as a pilot flying".
- Do I need a night landing in the UK if I hold an IR?
- No. UK FCL.060(b)(2)(ii) lets a pilot in command who holds an IR fly at night without the night takeoff, approach and landing.
- When does night start for UK recency?
- Half an hour after sunset. UK FCL.010 defines night as "the time from half an hour after sunset until half an hour before sunrise (both times inclusive), sunset and sunrise being determined at surface level".
Sources
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, Annex I (UK Part-FCL), FCL.060 and FCL.010, legislation.gov.uk (up to date with changes in force on or before 10 November 2026), read 12 Nov 2026
- The Aviation Safety (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/645), regulation 310, read 12 Nov 2026
This is a plain-words summary to help you keep your own records, not legal advice. The regulation and your operator's procedures always take precedence.