Virgin Atlantic Cabin Crew Assessment Guide
What Virgin Atlantic asks of cabin crew applicants, from the online scenarios to the assessment day and training in Crawley
The online assessment, in Virgin’s words
Virgin Atlantic’s cabin crew page says that after you apply it will invite you to "a short online assessment", where you answer questions on scenarios based on your preferences and how you are most likely to behave, think and act. It calls this Situational Judgement Testing: "We’ll give you a situation you could find yourself in onboard, and a choice of answers. You simply choose the one that most closely matches how you’d react in real life."
Two things follow from that wording. The scenarios are set on board, so think as a member of crew responsible for safety and for customers at once. And the question is how you would react, so the test is measuring your preferred style as much as finding one right answer. Answer as you would genuinely act, not as you guess Virgin wants you to.
The stages
Virgin’s general application and assessment page, which covers every role, says its assessment centres typically draw on a group discussion, role plays, ability tests such as numerical reasoning or role-related scenarios, a presentation and a behavioural or biographical interview, chosen to fit the role. The cabin crew page does not say which of these the crew assessment day uses, so prepare for a group exercise and an interview built on real examples, using the STAR method.
Who built the assessment
Amberjack, a UK assessment and early-careers recruitment company, publishes a case study on Virgin Atlantic saying the airline has worked with it "since 2021 to assist with the cabin crew recruitment process". In the campaign it describes, the only applicants turned away before the online stage were those who missed regulatory requirements, such as being able to swim. Everyone else took an immersive blended assessment of situational and behavioural scenarios, delivered through video-based content, followed by a video interview, and every candidate who finished received a feedback report. That campaign drew 4,921 applications and made offers to 516 crew within 12 weeks.
The case study and Virgin’s current page do not fully match. Amberjack describes video content and a video interview; Virgin describes a short test where you choose one answer. The format may have changed, or the page may simplify it. Your invitation email is the reliable guide to what you will see.
What Virgin asks of cabin crew
From the cabin crew page and the recruitment FAQs:
- You must be 18 or over when you apply; applications from 17-year-olds are not accepted.
- The right to live and work in the UK, no live criminal convictions or pending cases (including drink driving), and a passport valid for every destination Virgin flies to.
- An arm reach of 210cm to reach the overhead lockers, and the ability to hold the brace position with your feet flat on the floor from a jump seat 45cm high.
- At least three GCSEs or equivalent passes, and customer service experience. A cabin crew course is not required.
- The stamina to stand and walk unaided for up to eight hours, clear hearing without assistance, and readiness to give first aid and CPR and to serve food and alcohol.
Practise the scenarios
We cannot reproduce Virgin’s onboard scenarios or Amberjack’s video content. What you can practise is the judgement underneath: reading a situation, weighing the options and choosing the response that keeps people safe and looked after. Our Amberjack scenarios ask for a best and a worst response, which asks more of you than Virgin’s single choice and so covers it.
- Situational Judgement (Most and Least) (10-20 minutes, free) - Amberjack-style workplace scenarios in text. You mark a best and a worst response, a step beyond Virgin’s single choice.
Our guides to situational judgement tests and personality questionnaires cover the two kinds of question Virgin’s description blends together.
Common questions
Does Virgin Atlantic use Amberjack?
Amberjack says it has supported Virgin’s cabin crew recruitment since 2021. Virgin does not name a supplier, and its own description of the test differs from the case study, so do not rely on any one prep site’s account of the format.
How long does it take to hear back?
Virgin’s FAQs say it usually takes one to three months to reply to a cabin crew application, because of the volume, and that every candidate gets an outcome by email.
Can I apply again if I am unsuccessful?
Yes, but Virgin asks external applicants not to apply for the same role within six months. No cabin crew role was advertised when we checked on 5 November 2026, so watch the careers site for the next one.