Air Transport Services Workers

How to become an Airport Operations Controller

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 机场运行指挥员

Allocates airport resources for flight handling and services, manages apron operations, coordinates emergency response and collects and processes airport operations information.

Main tasks

Collecting and processing airport information and directing the units working at the airport to keep it running smoothly
Organising flight handling and services and overseeing vehicles, equipment and people on the airside and apron so aircraft are safe and turned round smoothly
Starting rescue procedures and coordinating the response when accidents or emergencies happen
Carrying out the airport emergency plan and checking rescue work

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Air Logistics Management (530803). Vocational major 530803 Air Logistics Management (航空物流管理), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Logistics Management; Civil Aviation Cargo Transport.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Smart Airport Operations and Management (300403). Vocational major 300403 Smart Airport Operations and Management (智慧机场运行与管理), 4 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Airport Operations Controller.
National qualification: National professional qualification: Air Transport Services Personnel (airport operations controller). A national qualification that shows your level; it is not required to work. Listed in the national vocational qualifications catalogue (国家职业资格目录, 2021) as Air Transport Services Personnel (airport operations controller) (航空运输服务人员（机场运行指挥员）), run by Civil Aviation Skills Assessment Bodies. Peernovo links it to this occupation.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥63,600 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥47,800 to CN¥89,000. One in ten earn less than CN¥36,000 and one in ten more than CN¥121,300.
This is the figure for the mid group Transport, Warehousing, Logistics and Postal Services Workers, not for this job alone.
National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
Guangzhou only: median CN¥76,938 a year (2025), middle half CN¥56,236 to CN¥104,449.
This is the figure for the mid group Transport, Warehousing, Logistics and Postal Services Workers, not for this job alone.
Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Transport, Warehousing, Logistics and Postal Services Workers holds 6.05% of everyone employed in China; 14.2% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
32.9% are under 35, 58.1% are 35 to 54 and 9% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 40 to 44.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become an Airport Operations Controller?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Air Logistics Management (530803); Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Smart Airport Operations and Management (300403).

How much does an Airport Operations Controller earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥63,600 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Transport, Warehousing, Logistics and Postal Services Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥76,938 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of an Airport Operations Controller?

Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau: Guangzhou 2025 labour market wage prices (P10 to P90 annual CNY by occupation) (2025 (enterprise pay survey)), retrieved 4 October 2026
National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), 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

Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.

Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.

Updated 5 October 2026