Airline Dispatchers are highly trained individuals who hold a valid FAA Aircraft Dispatcher certificate. They are employed by individual airlines and work in the airline’s operational control center, sometimes known as System Operations Control Centers, Flight Control, Flight Dispatch or just Dispatch. Dispatchers control and coordinate all functions of the airline. Dispatch serves as the airline’s “Mission Control”. The dispatch office is the airline’s nerve center.All major decisions concerning the airline’s operation are made, whether it be regional or global in scope, in dispatch centers. FAA licensed Aircraft Dispatchers Air Traffic Controllers. Air Traffic Controllers work for the FAA, and separate air traffic. To contrast the two, think of Air Traffic Controllers as traffic cops whereas Dispatchers would be the Mayor.Airline Dispatchers are the ground equivalent to the Airline Captain. Captain and Dispatcher exercise joint decision making and shared authority during the airline flight operation. The FAA believes in the “two heads are better than one” concept. In order to exercise this shared decision making, the Dispatcher must be equally knowledgeable as the Captain in aviation and aeronautics. The FAA Aircraft Dispatcher license is required to do the job.The Airline Dispatcher job is one which requires an extreme amount of knowledge aided by a plentiful blend of common sense and practical reasoning skills, topped off with the ability to keep cool under pressure. All this talent isn’t without its rewards, however. The Airline Dispatcher enjoys a number of benefits that would be tough to pass up.