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Transport clerical workers

How to become a Flight Dispatcher

Also called: Aircraft Dispatcher, Airline Dispatcher

Analyses information about a flight to its destination and prepares the flight plan, and supports the flight from the ground by keeping track of how it is going.

Workers in this job say university is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

Usually, after being hired by an airline, people judged to have the aptitude build experience through company training and as assistants to qualified dispatchers, and then become dispatchers themselves. Some airlines have group companies that specialise in flight operations work, and these also recruit. No qualifications are needed to join an airline or similar, but a university degree or higher is usual. After training, you sit the national flight dispatcher skills test run by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. After passing, you gain more experience and become a fully qualified dispatcher once you pass the company's internal assessment. To sit the national test you must hold the aeronautical radio operator qualification, be 21 or older and have at least two years of work experience, such as assisting a flight dispatcher.

Ways in

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Flight Dispatcher?

Usually, after being hired by an airline, people judged to have the aptitude build experience through company training and as assistants to qualified dispatchers, and then become dispatchers themselves. Some airlines have group companies that specialise in flight operations work, and these also recruit. No qualifications are needed to join an airline or similar, but a university degree or higher is usual. After training, you sit the national flight dispatcher skills test run by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. After passing, you gain more experience and become a fully qualified dispatcher once you pass the company's internal assessment. To sit the national test you must hold the aeronautical radio operator qualification, be 21 or older and have at least two years of work experience, such as assisting a flight dispatcher.

How much does a Flight Dispatcher earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥5,797,000 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Transport and post clerical workers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Flight Dispatcher?

Not always. In this job's census occupation group, 29% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of a Flight Dispatcher?

Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026