Civil aviation authority relaxes rules for pilots

The national civil aviation authority has relaxed the requirements for pilot candidates, which will enable more people to pass the physical examination.

The newly modified medical specifications for recruitment of civil aviation pilots took effect last Sunday.

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, some standards in the medical specification established in 2006 are outdated due to technological developments and general improvements in health.

One of the biggest changes is the easing of the eyesight requirements. The standard for uncorrected distance vision decreases from 0.3 to 0.1, although corrected vision remains at 1.0.

Those who have undergone vision correction surgery will also be able to apply, as long as they meet certain requirements. People with short sight of less than 450 degrees and far sight of less than 300 degrees are allowed to take the test six months after vision correction surgery.

An article published by the Civil Aviation Medical Center on carnoc.com said shortsightedness is the biggest reason that keeps many youngsters from pursuing a career in civil aviation as a pilot.

Almost 50 percent of people in China are shortsighted. More than 70 percent of high school and college students are shortsighted, and the number is increasing, the WTO's latest study said.

Poor eyesight is the biggest contributing factor to the elimination rate in the medical examination. After lowering the requirements, the number of qualified candidates increased from 28 percent of all applicants to 84 percent, according to the article.

Other changes include removal of height and leg-length requirements, which stipulated that applicants had to be taller than 165 cm and their legs longer than 74 cm.

The Civil Aviation Medical Center said that airlines can set a lower height limit for pilots they recruit.

Zhang Yi contributed to this story.