FLIGHT DISPATCH MANUAL

Transcription

1 PAGE: 1 Table of Contents Table of Contents... 1 CHAPTER General Requirements for Airport Weather Enroute Amendment to Dispatch Release Flight Watch Flight Watch Communication Re-Dispatch Requirements for Re-Dispatch Re-Dispatch Messages From Dispatch Description for Terminal Weather From Captain Fuel Emergency In-flight Fuel Checks Company Minimum Reserve Fuel Declaration of Fuel Emergencies... 5

2 PAGE: 2 CHAPTER General The dispatch rules that apply while a flight is enroute should not be mistaken for those that apply for 'original dispatch'. After the flight, has departed, the flight, for dispatch purposes, is enroute, the information in this section then applies Requirements for Airport Weather Enroute Except under the terms of an extended over-water dispatch or a destination which no alternate is named, while a flight is enroute to the destination, the weather at the destination alternate must be forecast to be at or above alternate minima. While flight is enroute to the destination under the terms of an extended over-water dispatch, there is no specific requirement for weather at either the destination or an alternate. However, if the airport weather requirements for original dispatch cannot be met while a flight is enroute, the Dispatch Release should be amended enroute to include any alternate that is within the fuel range of the airplane Amendment to Dispatch Release After departure the Dispatch Release may be amended only to change or designate alternate within the fuel range of the airplane. An additional alternate may be proposed by the captain or by the dispatcher but both the captain and the dispatcher must concur with the amendment for it to become effective Flight Watch Flight Watch is an element of the "Operational Control" concept that is required after departure. The essence of flight watch is communication capability between the Captain and the Dispatcher. This communication is established primarily for messages related to operational developments other than those upon which the flight was planned to operate. These developments may include the following: (a) Terminal or Enroute weather conditions, (b) Additional adverse weather phenomena information that may affect the safety of the flight, (c) The availability of terminal or enroute facilities and services, (d) A significant change in flight plan, (e) A diversion, or (f) Notification of an emergency Flight Watch Communication Flight watch communications outside the Thai FIR are accomplished using general purpose (GP) radio facilities, or HF operational control radio facilities such as Stockholm Radio, ARINC, ACARS or SATCOM. Within the Thai FIR flight watch is accomplished through Company VHF Radio. (a) Pilot initiated messages to Dispatch must include at the beginning to specify that it is a "Company Message." Pilots shall report to Dispatch: (b) ETA Change of +/-15 minutes. If the flight plan ETA differs by 15 minutes from the original ETA, the revised ETA is to be forwarded to Dispatch for onward communications; and (c) Flight Plan Change. If there is a change in the flight plan altitude or route of flight that results in an increase in required fuel that is significant in relation to the fuel onboard, Dispatch is to be advised.

3 PAGE: Re-Dispatch After departure, a re-dispatch is required to change the destination or to delete the alternate. Re-dispatch most frequently occurs when 'Planned Re-dispatch' (PRO) techniques are used to extend the operating range of a given fuel load. Planned Re-Dispatch (PRO) is an operation, prior to its departure that is planned to an intermediate position herein referred to as the 'Initial Destination', and is forecast to be able to accept an enroute re-dispatch and continue to the (scheduled) final destination. Changes of enroute conditions favorable to flight may allow a more direct route or eliminate the need for an enroute fuel stop. It is important to note that a diversion does not require a re-dispatch. For dispatch purposes, an alternate airport to which a diversion is made is not considered a new destination. The Captain and Dispatcher must always initiate a re-dispatch when either believes the flight cannot operate or continue to operate safely as planned or released. To determine the feasibility of a re-dispatch, the following options should be considered: (a) Long-range cruise, (b) Selection of an alternate closer to destination than the alternate named in the original dispatch, or (c) Deletion of an alternate, when the remaining flight time is six hours or less and destination weather permits. Dispatchers should offer a PRO to the Captain of a flight that has been dispatched for a fuel stop short of intended destination so long as there is a possibility of being able to accept the PRO. Naturally, this will not be feasible when the flight is fueled with minimum required fuel to the refueling airport. The re-dispatch position is a position common to both flight plan routings (initial destination and scheduled destination), where the Captain is re-dispatched onward to the scheduled destination. The re-dispatch procedure will normally be the closest common position to scheduled destination. The proposed redispatch message should be sent sufficiently in advance for the other party to evaluate the conditions of the PRO and send a 'Re-dispatch Accepted' (RDA) message before or arriving at the re-dispatch position. Note: Re-Dispatch Accepted (RDA) may be used enroute as an abbreviation by the Captain to inform Dispatch that the re-dispatch conditions are accepted Requirements for Re-Dispatch (a) General: A re-dispatch must meet all requirements applicable to the nature of the operation that are required for a normal dispatch. However, for purposes of dispatch, the flight is started at the redispatch position enroute rather than from a departure airport. (b) Weather: Normal destination and alternate weather requirements prevail. For the application of extended over-water operations to determine minimum weather requirements, the route of flight from re-dispatch position to destination will apply. (c) Fuel: Fuel requirements using the 'Point of Re-dispatch' (POR) position as the departure airport, as specified in the PRO procedures will apply. The geographical location of the re-dispatch position has no effect on the classification (domestic vs. international) of the operation.

4 PAGE: 4 Note: Point of Re-Dispatch (POR) is the position at which a decision is made either to proceed to the (scheduled) final destination or land at the Initial Destination. The POR may be a checkpoint enroute or the Initial Destination. For PRO flights. Dispatchers normally based fuel requirements on the actual ZFW of the airplane. As a result, his computation is based on an in-flight gross weight which is the sum of ZFW and minimum required fuel. If the actual in-flight gross weight is greater than this amount, the prospect of a successful PRO is greatly enhanced as the excess weight is solely fuel. This factor must be considered when evaluating the dispatcher's minimum fuel proposal Re-Dispatch Messages From Dispatch A PRO message, initiated by the Dispatcher, should be brief and include only essential information necessary to evaluate the proposal. Normally, Dispatch should arrange for the message to be transmitted while the aircraft is under VHF coverage. Messages on HF should only be directed when it is essential the Captain receives the PRO before entering the area of VHF coverage. Under no conditions may a Dispatcher issue a Planned Re-Dispatch message (PRO) more than 2 hours prior to the aircraft's ETA at the point of re-dispatch. Only remarks that are essential to the re-dispatch will be included in the message. The original copy of all re-dispatch messages will be signed by the Dispatcher Description for Terminal Weather Terminal weather will be described as follows by the Dispatcher in the Re-dispatch Message: OPEN: Ceiling 3000 ft. and visibility 5 statute miles or greater. OPERATIONAL: Ceiling and visibility less than 3000 ft. and 5 miles but not less than 1000 ft. and 3 statute miles. INSTRUMENTS: Ceiling and visibility less than 1000 ft. and 3 miles but not less than 600 ft. and 1 statute mile. When ceiling and visibility will be less than 600 ft. and 1 statute mile, Flight Dispatch will give the forecast in clear text From Captain When the Captain accepts the proposed re-dispatch, he will transmit the Re-dispatch Accepted (RDA) message to Dispatch PRIOR to overhead the re-dispatch position (POR) when possible. The Captain is also responsible for signing his copy of the re-dispatch message and noting the time of acceptance. A re-dispatch proposal from the Captain to Dispatch will be brief and in any convenient format. As a minimum, Captain's PRO information shall include: (a) Flight Number (b) Point of Re-dispatch (c) Destination (d) Alternate (e) Estimated Fuel over POR

5 PAGE: 5 (f) Flight Level (g) ETA to Destination 10.4 Fuel Emergency In-flight Fuel Checks The Commander must ensure that fuel checks are carried out in flight at the top of climb and at regular intervals thereafter. The fuel check must be recorded and evaluated to: (a) Compare actual consumption with planned consumption, (b) Determine the expected fuel remaining on arrival at destination, and (c) Check that the remaining fuel is sufficient to complete the flight in accordance with the Company's requirements Company Minimum Reserve Fuel Flight operations must be planned and conducted to avoid a minimum fuel situation occurring. The planned amount of final reserve fuel will always be 30 minutes and the conduct of the flight should be such that this amount will be available at the alternate airport Declaration of Fuel Emergencies When the Commander becomes aware that the fuel on board will drop to the Final Reserve before landing, he must advise ATS and request a priority landing as early as possible - prefix PAN. If the Company Minimum Reserve Fuel figure is likely to be reached before landing, then the Commander must declare a full emergency-prefix MAYDAY. Note: The term "fuel emergency" is not recognized in most States. Emergency calls should be prefixed by "PAN" or "MAYDAY", as appropriate.

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