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ATPL theory exams · subject difficulty · 070

Is Operational Procedures (070) Hard? And Can You Memorise It?

Not conceptually difficult, but scattered: a wide sweep of rules and procedures with less internal structure than most subjects.

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Practise Operational Procedures questionsFull Operational Procedures syllabus guide

Exam

45 questions

In 75 minutes, at the standard 75% pass mark.

Study load

lower 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

Not typical

No authority-published allowance we track for this subject.

What Operational Procedures (070) actually covers

Noise abatement, wake turbulence, fuel and oil requirements, emergency procedures, RVSM, MNPS, windshear, ATIS, SIGMET and NOTAM.

Effectively the "everything operational" subject — many short topics rather than a few deep ones.

For the full topic-by-topic syllabus breakdown, see the Operational Procedures 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 Operational Procedures typically sitting toward the lower end of that range. A moderate exam whose challenge is breadth of small topics, not depth — typically lower-to-middle in the study budget.

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 Operational Procedures really sits

This is predominantly recall territory — separation minima, requirements, procedure steps — and structured memorisation works well. The risk is the scattered syllabus: without a checklist of topics, it is easy to simply never see one before exam day. Coverage matters more than depth here.

Common traps that cost marks

▸Small topics (e.g. specific wake-turbulence or fuel-requirement figures) skipped entirely rather than learned lightly.
▸Overlap with Air Law lulling you into skipping the operationally-specific detail.

Which subjects to sit alongside it

Part of the seeded regulatory cluster: sit Operational Procedures with Air Law (010) and Communications (090).

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.

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 Operational Procedures (070) hard?

Not conceptually difficult, but scattered: a wide sweep of rules and procedures with less internal structure than most subjects.

Can you just memorise Operational Procedures for the ATPL exam?

This is predominantly recall territory — separation minima, requirements, procedure steps — and structured memorisation works well. The risk is the scattered syllabus: without a checklist of topics, it is easy to simply never see one before exam day. Coverage matters more than depth here.

How long does it take to study ATPL Operational Procedures?

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 Operational Procedures typically sits toward the lower end of that range. A moderate exam whose challenge is breadth of small topics, not depth — typically lower-to-middle in the study budget.

Which subjects should I sit alongside Operational Procedures?

Part of the seeded regulatory cluster: sit Operational Procedures with Air Law (010) and Communications (090).

The other 12 subjects

010Is Air Law hard?021Is Aircraft General Knowledge hard?022Is Instrumentation hard?031Is Mass & Balance hard?032Is Performance hard?033Is Flight Planning & Monitoring hard?040Is Human Performance & Limitations hard?050Is Meteorology hard?061Is General Navigation hard?062Is Radio Navigation hard?081Is Principles of Flight hard?090Is Communications hard?

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Find out how ready you actually are in Operational Procedures

Drill Operational Procedures (070) questions with per-topic mastery tracking, spaced-repetition review, and timed mock exams at the real 75% pass mark.

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