China Civil Aviation Flight and Operations Technology Forum Set for October 2026 in Shanghai

China – The Civil Aviation Flight and Operations Technology Forum 2026 is scheduled to take place in Shanghai on October 15–16, bringing together organisations from China's airline, aircraft manufacturing, academic and flight-training sectors to discuss developments in pilot training and flight operations. The program places particular emphasis on evidence- and competency-based training, flight simulation, pilot lifecycle management and the use of digital technologies in training.

• 10 principal topics have been identified for the 2026 event:
  • Pilot Lifecycle Management (PLM),
  • Evidence-Based Training (EBT),
  • Competency-Based Training and Assessment (CBTA),
  • pilot physical and mental health,
  • Crew Resource Management,
  • flight simulation training,
  • low-altitude flight training,
  • flight test and airworthiness certification,
  • big data and artificial intelligence, and
  • digital-intelligent flight training.
• The forum is hosted by the Shanghai Society of Aeronautics and the Flight Technology Branch of the Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics, with the Civil Aviation Flight University of China (CAFUC) listed as co-host. The Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics provides supporting-organisation status.
• Organisations involved in delivering the event include China Eastern Airlines Technology Application R&D Center, the CAAC Key Laboratory of Flight Techniques and Flight Safety, COMAC Civil Aircraft Flight Test Center, the Sichuan Civil Aviation Flight Technology and Flight Safety Engineering Technology Research Center, CAFUC's School of Flight Technology and Galleon (Shanghai) Consulting.
• Flight training forms a substantial part of the agenda, particularly the progression of EBT and CBTA, use of simulator-based training, application of operational data to training design and development of digital and AI-supported training systems. These subjects continue themes discussed at Chinese aviation training events during 2024 and 2025, including simulator-data use in EBT and CBTA-based type-rating and instructor development.
• Low-altitude flight training has also been added to the published subject areas, reflecting the increasing attention being given in China to training requirements outside conventional airline operations alongside broader flight test and airworthiness topics.
• CAFUC brings one of China's largest pilot-training operations into the event. The university reports nearly 400 trainer aircraft across 16 types, 59 full-flight simulators and flight training devices, nearly 500 flight instructors and approximately 500,000 flight-training hours annually. Its network includes five flight colleges and additional training bases across China.
• CAFUC's College of Flight Technology has also developed pilot core-competency evaluation and Pilot Professionalism Lifecycle Management systems and operates research facilities covering flight simulation, navigation, aircraft performance and aviation human factors, directly aligning with several of the forum's 2026 topics.

Source: Civil Aviation Flight and Operation Technology Forum