Quick answer: Under EASA FCL.050 you must record every flight with the date, aircraft type and registration, departure and arrival points, total flight time, and the function you flew (PIC, co-pilot, dual, or instructor), split into day/night and IFR/VFR. Digital logbooks are accepted in 2026 provided they can be printed and certified. Recruiters increasingly reject unstructured PDFs and scanned paper.
What EASA requires you to record
For each flight, your logbook must capture at least:
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-06-14 |
| Aircraft type & registration | A320 / F-HXYZ |
| Departure & arrival | LFPG → LMML |
| Total time of flight | 3h05 |
| Function time | PIC / co-pilot / dual / instructor |
| Conditions | Day / night, IFR / VFR |
| Landings | Day / night count |
Function times, explained
- PIC — pilot in command; you are responsible for the flight.
- PICUS — PIC under supervision; counts toward command experience when signed off.
- Dual — flight instruction received.
- Co-pilot — you are a required crew member but not in command.
Getting these categories right is what makes hours count toward a frozen-ATPL unfreeze or a command upgrade. Mislabelled function time is the single most common reason a logbook gets questioned.
Digital vs paper in 2026
Digital logbooks are fully acceptable to EASA as long as the data can be printed and, where required, certified. In practice, airlines now prefer a clean structured export over a shoebox of paper — it is faster to verify and harder to fudge. Paper is still legal, but it slows every application down.
The five logbook mistakes that cost you interviews
- Unstructured PDFs a recruiter has to read line by line.
- Mislabelled function time (co-pilot logged as PIC).
- Gaps with no explanation between currency periods.
- Totals that don't add up across pages.
- No quick way to prove night, instrument and cross-country splits.
How recruiters verify hours
When you apply, the recruiter asks for your logbook and cross-checks totals against your licence, ratings and claimed experience. If it arrives as a structured export, verification takes minutes. If it arrives as a scan, plan for days of back-and-forth — and you are competing against candidates whose files clear instantly.
How Veejo helps
Veejo Career Log keeps your logbook in the structure recruiters expect: every function-time split, day/night and IFR/VFR breakdown, and a one-click verified export. It is the difference between "shortlisted this week" and "still verifying".
▶ Watch a Career Log export walkthrough on the Veejo YouTube channel.