Flight dispatcher
A flight dispatcher is an employee of an airline who is responsible for flight preparation and ground-based support for flights. Other common terms for this occupation are “ dispatcher ” as well as “flight operations officer” (FOO) and “flight operations controller” (FOC).
tasks
The flight dispatcher is an important partner of the pilot on the ground. An official license is required to practice the profession. If the license is missing, the activity is carried out under the supervision of a licensed dispatcher. This profession is then called, for example, “Movement Controller” or “Dispatch Candidate”. In Germany this is issued by the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) in Braunschweig in accordance with the regulation on aviation personnel. The German flight dispatcher license is based on international law, in particular ICAO Annex 1 and 6 and ICAO DOC 7192 D3. This was implemented and defined in Germany under national law in Sections 112 to 114, LuftPersV (Ordinance on Aviation Personnel) .
Scope of the German license according to the LuftPersV: "The license entitles to carry out the flight preparation and the ground-side support of the pilot in charge during the flight professionally or commercially."
education
In Germany, vocational training for flight dispatchers is uniformly regulated. It has an official duration of six months (the actual duration is around twelve months) and is usually offered in authorized flight schools. The transfer of knowledge takes place in the classic division according to theoretical (in the form of teaching at vocational schools) and practical content (at aviation companies). The training includes a. the following learning fields:
- Flight planning and monitoring
- meteorology
- Aviation law, air traffic and air traffic control regulations
- General navigation and radio navigation
- Loading and focus customers
- Technology, aircraft and engine knowledge
- Aerodynamics and flight performance
- Telecommunication facilities, data transfer and communication procedures, traffic flow control points
- Human capacity
The final examination is organized centrally by the Federal Aviation Office. This also awards the official German license as a flight dispatcher if it passes.
License
The German license, the pilot's license for flight dispatchers , ( english Flight Operations Officer License ), today issued with unlimited validity. Previously, the validity was limited to two years and proof of work was required to extend it. In IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) audited companies, continuous training for flight dispatchers is required.
In order to be granted the license, extensive theoretical knowledge comparable to that required to obtain a commercial pilot license ( commercial pilot license) must be proven. In addition, knowledge of telecommunications procedures, air traffic control procedures and handling complex IT applications must be mastered. Interest in aviation and very good knowledge of English are also prerequisites.
According to German law ( LuftPersV ), the commercial pilot license and other flying licenses can be extended to include the flight dispatcher license through an additional examination and a corresponding internship.
Other countries (e.g. the USA and Canada ) have a system of "Joint Responsibility" in which the pilot and flight dispatcher share responsibility for the safe conduct of the flight. This system was introduced in 1938 by the Civil Aeronautic Act after an airplane accident in the USA. The flight dispatcher observes the execution of the flight ("flight watch") with the aid of computer programs and informs the pilot of circumstances that could impair the safety of the flight or that represent useful information for the pilot. These can be, for example, the closure of airports and airways , weather changes and technical irregularities. Pilots and flight dispatchers work hand in hand to ensure optimal decisions.
advantages
A major advantage of this system is the number of flights that flight dispatchers oversee: Because a flight dispatcher handles up to 100 individual flights on short-haul routes in each shift, dispatchers in the "Joint Responsibility" system are confronted with irregularities more often than pilots and can therefore deliver high quality information. This also applies to long-haul dispatch, where significantly fewer flights are processed by the individual dispatcher due to the increased effort due to less automation.
One of the main tasks of the dispatcher is to ensure that the entire operation of an airline is as economical as possible. In most cases it is uneconomical to let the captain create a complex flight plan himself in accordance with the numerous legal and operational requirements, since the working hours of a captain or first officer are simply too expensive. As a specialist in the field of flight planning, the dispatcher usually knows the legal and operational requirements in more detail, which are often different in pre-flight planning than in flight. For example, other meteorological information must be observed than that which is relevant during the flight.
Furthermore, the shift times of dispatchers are often 10 to 12 hours per day. However, more days off are granted to compensate. Many dispatchers work in shifts. Other countries have adapted this system in the recent past, for example Malaysia , the United Arab Emirates and the People's Republic of China .
In recent years several incidents have occurred in Europe that could have been prevented by “Flight Watch” and “Joint Responsibility”. The subject of "Joint Responsibility / Flight Watch" is currently being discussed controversially in Europe in the course of standardization under the umbrella of EASA .
See also
swell
- ^ LBA: Training as a flight dispatcher , accessed on December 9, 2011