Prohibition of Remote Dispatching
Key claim: The FAA proposes to prohibit dispatch and flight-following activities from locations outside designated dispatch or flight-following centers, except during emergencies, as required by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024.
Abstract
(Proposed Rule · Transportation Department, Federal Aviation Administration) FAA proposes to amend its regulations for domestic, flag, and supplemental operators to prohibit dispatch and flight following activities outside of locations designated as dispatch or flight following centers except in emergencies that render a dispatch or flight following center inoperable. FAA also proposes to reorganize certain sections of the regulations for clarity. The rule is required by section 420 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024.
Why this matters
Aircraft dispatchers share operational responsibility with pilots-in-command for flight safety under Part 121, and their working environment affects access to weather, NOTAM, and coordination resources. Codifying that dispatch and flight-following must occur in designated centers—rather than remote or home locations—preserves the controlled, auditable operations environment that safety oversight assumes, while carving out emergency exceptions for continuity.