Is Flight Planning & Monitoring (033) Hard? And Can You Memorise It?
Hard if sat early, much more manageable sat late: it is the syllabus’s great integrator, drawing on Meteorology, Mass & Balance and Performance.
Last updated
Exam
43 questions
In 120 minutes, at the standard 75% pass mark.
Study load
upper end
Of the rough 40–80 h/subject planning range — it is a range, not a promise.
Sit alongside
See pairing
Affinity guidance below — matched to our in-app planner.
Flashcards in the exam
Permitted*
*At Austro Control — see the note below.
What Flight Planning & Monitoring (033) actually covers
ICAO and ATC flight plans, fuel planning, ETOPS, alternate selection, en-route planning and the NAT track system.
A long exam (120 minutes for 43 questions) because the fuel-planning and chart problems are genuinely time-consuming.
For the full topic-by-topic syllabus breakdown, see the Flight Planning & Monitoring subject guide.
Typical study hours — honestly
Any single number here would be false precision, so we won’t give one. As a rough planning figure, most self-study candidates allocate 40–80 hours per subject, and students report Flight Planning & Monitoring typically sitting toward the upper end of that range. Long, multi-step problems plus dependence on three other subjects put it at the upper end — especially if those prerequisites are not yet solid.
Your own figure depends on background, maths comfort and whether you are studying full-time — treat the range as a budget to adjust, not a target to hit.
Memorise vs understand: where Flight Planning & Monitoring really sits
The fuel-policy rules and flight-plan codes need memorising; the planning problems do not reward it. The same community observation applies here as in Performance: "every calculation is on the (concept)" — method over answer-recognition.
The most effective preparation is sequencing: sit 033 after Meteorology (050), Mass & Balance (031) and Performance (032), and most of its content is revision rather than new learning.
Common traps that cost marks
Which subjects to sit alongside it
Not an affinity pairing but a prerequisite chain: schedule Flight Planning after Meteorology (050), Mass & Balance (031) and Performance (032). See the order-of-study guide.
How the pairings fit into a full plan — and why order matters — is covered in the recommended order of study, with the sitting mechanics in sittings & limits.
The detail nobody mentions
Austro Control permits flashcards in the Flight Planning & Monitoring (033) exam — per Austro Control’s own FAQ, flashcards are allowed in subjects 031, 032, 033, 034 and 061. If you are sitting with Austro Control, building a clean flashcard set for this subject is study time that walks into the exam room with you. Other authorities set their own rules — confirm before assuming.
Important: Exam question counts and durations are set per authority and periodically revised, and difficulty reports are exactly that — student reports, not guarantees. Confirm current exam details with your ATO and authority before planning.
Frequently asked questions
Is EASA ATPL Flight Planning & Monitoring (033) hard?
Hard if sat early, much more manageable sat late: it is the syllabus’s great integrator, drawing on Meteorology, Mass & Balance and Performance.
Can you just memorise Flight Planning & Monitoring for the ATPL exam?
The fuel-policy rules and flight-plan codes need memorising; the planning problems do not reward it. The same community observation applies here as in Performance: "every calculation is on the (concept)" — method over answer-recognition. The most effective preparation is sequencing: sit 033 after Meteorology (050), Mass & Balance (031) and Performance (032), and most of its content is revision rather than new learning.
How long does it take to study ATPL Flight Planning & Monitoring?
It is a range, and it genuinely varies by background — as a rough planning figure, most self-study candidates allocate 40–80 hours per subject, and students report Flight Planning & Monitoring typically sits toward the upper end of that range. Long, multi-step problems plus dependence on three other subjects put it at the upper end — especially if those prerequisites are not yet solid.
Which subjects should I sit alongside Flight Planning & Monitoring?
Not an affinity pairing but a prerequisite chain: schedule Flight Planning after Meteorology (050), Mass & Balance (031) and Performance (032). See the order-of-study guide.
The other 12 subjects
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Drill Flight Planning & Monitoring (033) questions with per-topic mastery tracking, spaced-repetition review, and timed mock exams at the real 75% pass mark.