Flight dispatcher: flight planning, training and license

Before an Airbus rolls past the fence, someone else decided hours earlier which route it flies, how much jet fuel is in the tanks and which airport serves as the alternate. This work is done by flight dispatchers – in German, Flugdienstberater – internationally usually called dispatchers or flight operations officers. They sit neither in the cockpit nor in the tower, but in the airline’s operations control. This guide shows you what the job involves, how training and licensing are regulated in Germany, how the USA handles it – and what you already bring along as a spotter.

Flight dispatcher: the short answer

A flight dispatcher plans flights on the ground, briefs the crew and accompanies flights until landing. In Germany, the title is defined in the Air Traffic Personnel Ordinance (LuftPersV): anyone working as a flight dispatcher needs a flight dispatcher license issued by the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA, the German Federal Aviation Office). The route there consists of a recognized theory course with an exam at the LBA, at least three months of practical training at an airline and a practical exam. The license is then valid without an expiry date.

Important for the job search: not every position with “dispatch” in the title requires this license. The LBA explicitly clarifies that no license is needed for work as a dispatcher or flight operations officer. Which qualification an airline expects is therefore stated in the respective job posting.

What a flight dispatcher concretely does

The LBA describes the profession briefly: flight dispatchers work in the ground operations of air carriers, plan and prepare flights, brief the crew, monitor the flights and provide support during the flight. To do so they coordinate with air traffic control and European air traffic flow management. Behind these keywords lies a rather varied working day.

Flight planning

The core of the job is the operational flight plan – the document with which the crew carries out the flight. It contains route, flight altitudes, waypoints, expected winds, times and above all the fuel quantities. Modern flight planning software calculates many variants in seconds, but the decisions remain with people: is a detour worthwhile to avoid strong headwinds? Does a higher flight level make sense because of turbulence? Which route is even possible given airspace closures?

Why aircraft fly curved paths on the map is explained in the article Why aircraft fly arcs. The departure and approach procedures at the start and end of every route are described in SID and STAR, and why cruise flight usually takes place at around 10,000 meters is covered in Why aircraft fly at about 10,000 meters.

Fuel: enough, but not too much

Fuel calculation is the part where safety and economy meet most directly. Every additional kilogram of jet fuel has to be carried along and increases consumption. At the same time, EU regulations require that, besides the fuel for the actual route, reserves for the unforeseen, for the way to the alternate airport and a fixed final reserve are on board. For jets, the final reserve corresponds roughly to half an hour of holding. Depending on the situation, additional quantities come on top, for example when holding is expected – what that looks like is shown in Holding explained.

Weather, NOTAMs and alternate airports

Flight dispatchers read weather reports, forecasts and weather charts for departure, route and destination. If you can already do something with METAR and TAF, you know part of the toolkit. Just as important are NOTAMs, that is, notices about closed runways, failed navigation aids or restricted airspace – how to read them is explained in Reading and understanding NOTAMs.

The choice of alternate airports follows from weather and NOTAMs. If fog is forecast at the destination, the flight needs a suitable alternate within reach – and the fuel for it. What happens when it really comes to that, you can read in Diversion to an alternate airport. In winter, the question of aircraft de-icing is added, which affects time and procedures on the ground.

Filing the flight plan, slots, briefing

The flight plan for air traffic control (ATC flight plan) goes in Europe to Eurocontrol’s Network Manager, which coordinates traffic flow in European airspace. If a sector or destination airport is overloaded, it assigns takeoff time windows – more on that in Eurocontrol explained and Slots at airports. If a slot shifts, the flight dispatcher has to react, communicate with crew and handling and replan if necessary. Finally comes the briefing: the crew receives the flight plan, weather, NOTAMs and notes on the route, and the captain decides on that basis whether to accept the flight as it is.

Flight monitoring and support in the air

The work isn’t over at takeoff. Flight dispatchers keep an eye on flights in progress, supply new weather information, check which airport is suitable in case of technical problems or medical emergencies on board, and calculate alternatives. Communication often runs via data link – what is transmitted over ACARS you can partly read along yourself as a hobby receiver. On long-haul flights with twinjets over oceans, the ETOPS rules also play a role, which define how far an aircraft may be from suitable alternate airports.

Distinctions: flight dispatcher, controller, load control

At the airport and in the airline there are several jobs that have to do with “flight operations” and are easily confused.

Job	Employer (typical)	Core task
Flight dispatcher / dispatcher	Airline, operations control	Flight planning, fuel, briefing, flight monitoring
Air traffic controller	Air navigation service provider (in Germany usually DFS)	Separation and guidance of air traffic by radio
Apron control	often the airport operator	Directing movements on the apron
Load control / load planning	Airline or ground handler	Loading, weight and center of gravity
Ramp agent	Ground handler at the airport	Coordinating the turnaround at the aircraft

The most important difference from the controller: air traffic control guides all the traffic in an airspace, regardless of airline. The flight dispatcher works for their airline and takes care of its own flights. How the controller’s profession works is covered in Becoming an air traffic controller, who operates air traffic control in Germany in DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung, and the apron side is described in Apron control. What happens around the aircraft between landing and departure is shown in Working on the apron and Turnaround explained.

The legal situation in Germany

The LuftPersV devotes its own subsection with three paragraphs to the profession. Section 112 stipulates that flight dispatchers need a license for their work and names the professional requirements. Section 113 regulates the exam, Section 114 issuance, scope and validity of the license.

The scope of the license is remarkable: it entitles you to flight preparation and to supporting the captain from the ground, but only in the areas of responsibility that the respective air carrier has familiarized you with. The license is thus a basic qualification; the concrete work always depends on the employer’s orientation.

Requirements and training

Section 112 LuftPersV names the professional requirements quite briefly. The regulation does not set a minimum age, a particular school qualification or a number of hours for the course. What is required:

• Basic knowledge: sufficient knowledge of English, mathematics and physics.
• Orientation in advance: proof that before the theory you were familiarized with the organization and procedures of an airline’s flight operations department.
• Theory course: participation in a recognized course at an approved training organization. The LBA publishes the list of approved organizations.
• Practical training: at least three months of practical training in an airline’s flight dispatch department, after passing the theory exam.

The seven theory subjects

Subject	What it covers
Air law and air traffic control regulations	Rules for flight operations, airspace, responsibilities
Navigation	Routes, courses, distances, navigation procedures
Meteorology	Weather charts, reports, forecasts, hazards such as thunderstorms and icing
Aircraft technology and knowledge	Flight performance, systems, mass and center of gravity
Communication and procedures	Data transmission, procedures, air traffic flow management
Flight planning	Fuel planning, flight plan creation, planning software
Human performance	Workload, sources of error, teamwork

Much of this you know from pilot training – no coincidence, because flight dispatchers and crew have to speak the same language. If you’re interested in the path to the cockpit, you’ll find the content of airline transport pilot theory in ATPL airline pilot training. The basic terms on airspace are explained in Airspace classes A to G, the difference between visual and instrument flight in Visual and instrument flight.

The route to the license step by step

Credit for pilots and the experienced

The LBA can fully or partly exempt applicants from theory subjects if they already demonstrate the knowledge. Named are holders of a valid ATPL(A), MPL(A), ATPL(H) or instrument rating under Part-FCL or a comparable license, as well as people who have passed the ATPL theory exam at the LBA. Documented experience as an assistant in an airline’s flight dispatch department can be credited toward the practical time. The practical exam, by contrast, always has to be taken in full.

A look at the USA: the aircraft dispatcher

In the USA the profession carries a different weight. For scheduled domestic and international flights under Part 121 of the FAA regulations, the captain and aircraft dispatcher share responsibility for flight preparation, for delay decisions and for releasing the flight. The dispatcher monitors the progress of the flight and must cancel or re-dispatch the flight if they or the captain no longer consider it safe to operate as planned.

Accordingly, the certificate is clearly regulated:

• Age: at least 23 for the certificate, at least 21 for the knowledge test.
• Language: reading, speaking, writing and understanding English.
• Tests: a knowledge test and a practical test.
• Experience or course: either at least two years of relevant experience within the last three years, for example as a pilot, meteorologist, air traffic controller or dispatch assistant, or an FAA-approved course with at least 200 hours of instruction.

For a career in Europe, the US certificate does not automatically replace the German license. But anyone thinking internationally should know that the training content is very similar.

Daily work and conditions

Flight dispatchers usually work in an airline’s operations control center, often in shifts, because flight operations start early and long-haul flights are underway at night. Quiet phases alternate with hectic ones: a line of thunderstorms over the hub, a runway closure or a technical defect can affect several flights at once within minutes. Then things are replanned, communicated and recalculated. Why delays occur despite all the planning is described in Why flights are delayed.

There are no reliable, generally valid figures on pay. It depends on airline, collective agreement coverage, location and experience. If you need concrete values, you’ll most likely find them in job postings. Employers are mainly airlines with their own operations control – at big hubs such as Frankfurt Airport, for example, the operations centers of large airline groups such as the Lufthansa Group are based. There are also service providers that handle flight planning for several airlines.

What spotters bring along

As a spotter you have a real head start in understanding: you know how runway configurations change, know aircraft types and airlines, tell callsign and flight number apart and may have already followed a diversion live on the flight tracker – how that works is in Spotting diversions live. Reading NOTAMs and weather reports, which many spotters use for their daily planning, is also part of the craft of the job.

Of course the hobby can’t replace the training. Flight planning under the regulations, fuel rules and performance calculations you only learn in the course. But in a job interview it helps if you can credibly show that flight operations have interested you for years. More related jobs: Becoming a pilot, Becoming an air traffic controller or Becoming a flight attendant.