Four Essential Skills of an Aircraft Dispatcher

By Eric Morris | Published: September 5, 2014

Text reading 'Four Essential Skills of an Aircraft Dispatcher' on a light background with a torn brown paper border, featuring the Sheffield School of Aeronautics logo in the corner.

Like any career, aircraft dispatching requires specific training and a certain skill set. If you are interested in becoming an aircraft dispatcher, it is important to identify your strengths and the skills you can improve upon to achieve your dream job. Here are some of the skills that dispatchers share:  

  1. Active Listening. In order to effectively communicate with a pilot who might be mid-flight, it is essential that you can listen with care and focus and ask for clarification when needed. When air travel and possible dangers are involved, the details of a pilot’s situation can be vital to your decision-making.
  1. Effective Communication. The ability to speak clearly and confidently is just as important as being able to listen. As a dispatcher, you will spend a great deal of your time communicating with others to assure that flights go smoothly.
  1. Good Judgment. When it comes time to make an important decision, an aircraft dispatcher must be able to understand the potential costs and benefits of the choices at hand. Your choices can affect the lives of hundreds.
  1. Problem-Solving. A good aircraft dispatcher must be able to stay calm under pressure and looks for solutions to unexpected problems. For example, if your plane encounters bad weather conditions, it is important that you can figure out a solution quickly to get that plane to safety.

If you excel in these areas, aircraft dispatching might be the perfect job for you. The proper training and certification can help you enhance these skills and your career.

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