Recently, the Management Rules on Licenses of Civil Aviation Flight Dispatchers and Training Organizations (hereinafter referred to as the Rules) was fully revised. The Rules now requires higher safety and academic qualifications for flight dispatchers. The threshold of applying for a flight dispatcher license has been improved from the junior college degree to the bachelor degree. And the training hours needed to obtain the license have been extended from 800 to 1 000 hours for beginners, or 200 to 500 hours for applicants with relevant experience.

The original version of the Rules has played a critical role in managing the qualification of flight dispatchers and their training since its issuance in 2016. However, the rapid growth of the civil aviation sector, the wider operating range of aircraft and the increasingly complex operating environment mean stricter requirements for flight dispatchers and their training, which are also reflected in the new provisions formulated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). In line with the need to intensify the management of the qualification of flight dispatchers and their training, CAAC fully revised the Rules on the basis of extensive consultation, taking into consideration the demand of the sector and relevant provisions made by ICAO.