Pilots must be able to land blind in smog  

民航局要求京沪航线机长能在雾霾中盲降

即使雾霾天气，能见度下降，航班降落的概率也将比以往提高。全国旅客吞吐量排名前十位的机场至首都机场的航班机长，必须具备二类盲降运行资格。上海两机场飞往北京的航班也被包含其中。这项民航局于今年年初下发的要求，将在明年1月1日开始正式执行。[查看全文]

(ECNS) -- Starting from January 2014, captains of civil flights from Shanghai to Beijing must be able to conduct blind landings (or instrument landings) in smoggy weather, according to a regulation issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Captains must be able to carry out Category-II Instrument Landing System operations, which require pilots to land with runway visual range of not less than 400 meters.

Captains on flights from China's top 10 busiest airports to Beijing will all be subject to the requirement.

Airline companies have already launched training programs for pilots. They can get the qualification after passing an exam from the Civil Aviation Administration.

A senior pilot at Spring Airlines said on Tuesday that 80 percent of pilots at the airline had already acquired the qualification.