What is the FEAST test?
FEAST is EUROCONTROL's air traffic controller selection test, used by around 50 providers in 40 countries. What FEAST I, II and III contain.
FEAST — the First European Air Traffic Controller Selection Test — is a tool designed by EUROCONTROL and used by air navigation service providers to identify suitable controller candidates. It has grown to around 50 providers across 40 countries, including NATS in the UK, DFS in Germany, skyguide in Switzerland, ENAV in Italy and the IAA in Ireland, plus non-European users including NAV CANADA, Dubai Air Navigation Services and CAAS in Singapore.
EUROCONTROL announced its 100,000th FEAST candidate in 2019, having run the test since 2006.
FEAST I — basic skills and abilities
- A cognitive battery covering decision-making, planning, memory, logical reasoning, visual perception, attention, multi-tasking and spatial orientation.
- An English language test assessing listening and comprehension.
EUROCONTROL gives the duration as roughly two and a half to four hours.
FEAST II — multi-tasking work samples
Two work-sample tests that simulate controller tasks requiring several activities at once. These are not question banks — they are performance tasks, and they are the part of FEAST that most preparation material does not touch, because a multiple-choice tool structurally cannot reproduce them.
FEAST III — personality questionnaire
A self-rating questionnaire on characteristics relevant to the role. There are no right or wrong answers, and attempting to game a personality inventory is both ineffective and detectable — most include consistency and social-desirability checks.
EUROCONTROL runs a free official FEAST preparation platform. It is worth using: it is the only source that comes from the organisation that designed the test. Note that it covers FEAST I concepts only, and EUROCONTROL states plainly that its practice items are not identical to the real ones.
The parts by name
EUROCONTROL names the components on its own FEAST information site, and knowing the names is genuinely useful — it is what lets you tell whether a provider is running the full package or a subset.
- CLASSIC PLUS KNOWLEDGE — the FEAST I cognitive battery. EUROCONTROL lists the domains it covers: decision-making, planning ability, memory, logical reasoning, visual perception, attention, multi-tasking and spatial orientation.
- ELICIT — the English Language Listening and Comprehension test, sat as part of FEAST I. Native English speakers routinely treat this as free marks and lose some.
- RADAR — a FEAST II work sample: you work simulated traffic on a scope rather than answer questions about it.
- MULTI-PASS — the other FEAST II work sample, built around holding several demands at once.
- FPQ — the FEAST III personality questionnaire, rated on a 1–5 scale. There are no right answers and nothing to revise.
FEAST I runs roughly 2.5 to 4 hours; each FEAST II test runs about 1.5 to 2 hours; the questionnaire takes around 35 to 45 minutes. What EUROCONTROL does not publish is the individual subtests inside CLASSIC PLUS KNOWLEDGE, their timings, their item counts or any pass mark — so treat any site quoting those precisely as guessing.
Not every organisation using FEAST uses every module. EUROCONTROL says so explicitly, and it matters: the only reliable source for which parts you will sit is the provider you applied to.
How FEAST relates to NATS
NATS is one of the providers that uses FEAST, so a UK candidate preparing for NATS Stage 1 and a candidate preparing for FEAST elsewhere are training overlapping ground. The abilities are the same; the packaging and the stage names differ.
Try a real item
Written to the same standard as the live tests — same format, same difficulty, and where it matters, the same trap that catches people in the real thing. Pick an answer to see the reasoning.
Listening Comprehension
In the real test this is spoken once, at pace, in a variety of accents — you cannot replay it. It's written out here so the item works on a page.
“Speedbird four seven two, descend flight level one two zero, squawk four six two one.”
What squawk code was given?
Spatial Orientation — Bearings
Read the two instruments, then place yourself relative to the beacon. This is the item type that separates candidates more than any other in the spatial group.
Your heading indicator reads 270°. The bearing needle points 45° to the right of your nose. Where are you in relation to the beacon?
Multi-Tasking
Three tasks at once for five minutes: steer through gates with the arrow keys, judge whether each equation flashing up is correct, and press Match when spoken shapes match the ones on screen. None of them stops while you deal with the others.
This is the closest thing in the cognitive battery to what FEAST II's work samples measure. The skill is not doing three things at once — nobody does — it is switching between them cleanly and knowing which one can safely wait.
Try itWorking Memory
A field of dots is shown and one lights up red. You memorise its position and the order the dots light in — but between each dot, an unrelated question appears that you must answer before the next one. Then you click the dots back in order.
The interference is the test. Holding a sequence is easy; holding it while something else demands your attention is the thing controllers actually do, and it is why both FEAST and the ATSA assess it.
Try itPractise what this guide covers
These are live now. Reading about a timed test is not the same as sitting one.
Common questions
Who uses the FEAST test?
Around 50 air navigation service providers across 40 countries, including NATS, DFS, skyguide, ENAV, the IAA, NAV CANADA, Dubai Air Navigation Services and CAAS Singapore.
What are FEAST I, II and III?
FEAST I is a cognitive battery plus an English listening test; FEAST II is two multi-tasking work samples; FEAST III is a personality questionnaire.
Is there official FEAST practice?
Yes — EUROCONTROL runs a free FEAST preparation platform covering FEAST I concepts. It states that its practice items are not identical to the real test.
Drill one ability at a time
Each of these collects every test for one ability, with a worked example — useful once you know which part is letting you down.
Keep reading
Last updated 2026-09-03. ATC Ready is an independent practice tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or associated with NATS Holdings, EUROCONTROL, the Federal Aviation Administration, NAV CANADA or any other air navigation service provider or testing authority. Always confirm current details on the provider's own recruitment pages.