Air Force pilots to get modern identity cards
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The Air Force will issue licenses to all active pilots and the cards will contain their flight experience and qualifications, the Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.
In addition to a paper certificate, pilots will receive electronic cards that contain their personal information as well as their flying history and current qualifications, the report said.
Pilots in active service could use the license for nonmilitary purposes such as identification.
Presently, four types of pilot certificates are given to air force pilots based on their flying experience. A pilot needs 1,000 hours in the air to quality for a first-class certificate.
Xu Yongling, deputy chief of staff at an air force station and a test pilot for China's domestic J-10 fighter jet, told the Global Times Wednesday that the procedure would improve how pilots within the air force are managed.
"A special administrative department will be responsible for examining the qualifications of pilots and for issuing the licenses," said Xu.
Xu said the move could help remove barriers between the air force and the civil aviation industry.
"China is a unique country in which air force pilots' certificates are not recognized by civil aviation authorities because the army and civil aviation are two separate systems, but the situation may change after the new licenses are introduced," Xu said.
"It is still not clear if the new pilot license will allow air force pilots who retire from the army to apply for civil aviation positions," Zou Jianjun, a professor at the Civil Aviation Management Institute of China, told the Global Times Wednesday.
"However, currently it is much easier for retired air force pilots to work in the civil aviation industry based on their flying experience," Zou said.
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