Flight Operations Officers
A flight operations officer (also known as a flight dispatcher) helps with the planning of flight paths while taking into consideration the aircraft performance and loading, thunderstorm, and turbulence forecasts, and conditions at the starting and ending points and alternate airports. Flight operations officers also provide a flight following service and warn pilots if conditions
Flight Operations Officers
A flight operations officer (also known as a flight dispatcher) helps with the planning of flight paths while taking into consideration the aircraft performance and loading, thunderstorm, and turbulence forecasts, and conditions at the starting and ending points and alternate airports. Flight operations officers also provide a flight following service and warn pilots if conditions or flight paths change. They usually operate from the operations centre of the airline. The flight dispatcher shares authorised responsibility with the commanding officer of the aircraft in a joint responsibility dispatch system.
Operations officers typically share this responsibility for the exercise of operational regulation, which permits them the authority to divert, postpone or even cancel a flight. After the departure of a flight, the dispatcher makes use of refined software tools to observe the flight’s movement and guides the flight crew should any conditions affect flight safety. This shared responsibility augments a greater level of checks and balances to aircraft performance and operation and greatly improves safety.
The terms “aircraft dispatcher”, “flight dispatcher”, and “flight operations officer” are generally interchangeable dependent on the part of the world in which they are used. The term “flight dispatcher” is used the USA, while “flight operations officer” is more commonly used in Europe and Africa.
The flight operations department manages various aspects of the operational side within the airline. However, its most important obligation is to ensure safe, legal and proficient operation of the given airline’s aircraft. This includes training and scheduling of cabin crew to ensure that they meet all the licensing and control requirements and can complete high-quality operation in a safe, efficient and consumer-friendly fashion. Specially trained operations personnel within the division also plays an important role in the enlistment of new cabin crew. The course plotting and procedural sections are in control of effective charting out of all new flight paths and making accessible all navigation, performance as well as any other necessary operational information to flight crew, to guarantee safe air and ground procedures. Inspecting, observing and distributing information on all calamities, occurrences and other events involving the airline’s aircraft all form part of the scope of this function.
Debela Training & Management (DTM) offers a wide array of AME courses as well as support staff courses, from Introduction to Aviation through to particular Engine courses like PT6, Lycoming 320 & 360 Series (Cat C), Textron Lycoming 540 Series, Continental, Piston General as well as Airframe Courses like Airframe General, Cessna 208 C208, and King Air 200 B1900. AME Human factors and CAT’s & CAR’s are run consistently. Debela Training & Management also offers specialised classes like borescope training courses or aircraft safety. Debela’s tranquil setting is ideal for students to learn and relax in.