How to become an aircraft refueller

Official title: Aircraft refueller

Also called: Aviation refueller, Aerial aircraft refueller

Aircraft refuellers fill aircraft with fuel at airports.

Main tasks

• Refuel aircraft from fuel vehicles
• Check aircraft fuel for toxins
• Drive and maintain fuel vehicles
• Maintain refuelling equipment
• Communicate with pilots and ground crew
• Follow aircraft refuelling schedules
• Follow health and safety rules

How to become one

You train on the job to become an aircraft refueller. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job. Required: a class 4 or 5 driver licence; 6 weeks on-the-job training. Other requirements: a dangerous goods endorsement on your driver licence.

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Pay · Past change · AI and this job

• Most common pay: $72,000 to $113,000 a year (median $95,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
• Lower: $51,000 a year · Upper: $128,000 a year
• TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
• Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
• People employed in the group Truck Drivers: 37,314 at the 2018 Census and 33,114 at the 2023 Census (-11.3%). Past change, not a forecast.
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

• About 160 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
• In the group Truck Drivers, 6% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
• Where people in the group Truck Drivers work (2023 Census): Auckland 27.7%, Canterbury 15%, and Waikato 12.6%.

Related jobs

• Heavy truck driver
• Flight instructor
• Aircraft loader
• Pilot
• Air traffic controller
• Airfield operations specialist

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Questions people ask

How do I become an aircraft refueller?

You train on the job to become an aircraft refueller. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job. Required: a class 4 or 5 driver licence; 6 weeks on-the-job training. Other requirements: a dangerous goods endorsement on your driver licence.

How much does an aircraft refueller earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $95,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $72,000 to $113,000 a year.

Has the number of people working as an aircraft refueller grown in New Zealand?

It has grown: TEC records an increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of an aircraft refueller?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
• Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026