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Airline’s Brain On The Ground

28/09/2015 by Aviation Times

These two occupations have so many similar subjects, they know so much about the aircraft performance, weather, routes, they both work in aviation industry, yet only one of them is an aircraft pilot! Guess who is the other one? If for a little short second you thought it could be the Flight Dispatcher – you are right! Flight Dispatchers are like a copy of airplane pilots, yet they stay on the ground and a lot of times are referred to as Pilots on the Ground.

What is a Flight Dispatcher?

You could ask, why do you need a copy of a pilot on the ground? Well, to say it simply – so that pilots in the air have 100% support. Flight Dispatchers are like the eyes, the ears and the brain for the pilot, however, the pilot must make the correct moves depending on the information that Flight Dispatcher provides. They are like a perfectly functioning team, like a small gang you could say, because one couldn’t safely exist without the other.

Flight Dispatcher have officially become a part of the aviation industry in 1938, however they did exist before, yet in various different forms and that kind of work wasn’t formalized legally. Today, Flight Dispatchers are the part of the Operations Control Center, this place could also be called the brain of every airline, because that is where all the airline operations planning starts and ends. Operations Control Center also houses ground handling operators, flight operations managers, crew dispatchers and all the assistants that are doing a lot of important work.

What do Flight Dispatchers do?

To start from the beginning – Flight Dispatchers take care of each flight from the point of its planning up until the aircraft is safely on the ground. It all begins with the route planning which involves checking the weather, various drifts, reading NOTAMS, listing the flight check points, and drafting the alternate flight route in case of the emergency situation. “This is not only a highly responsible job, but stressful to mention the least. It is amazing how fast and efficient you can be when you realize there are another five flight plans to do”, comments Giovanni Brusa, Flight Dispatcher and Flight Dispatcher Instructor who has been in love with this job for about twenty-five years!

Next up, Flight Dispatchers must stay in contact with the pilots all throughout the flight informing them about any changes in weather, situations in air traffic, updates about the destination, and answer or help solve any concerns or questions that pilots might face while in the air. In the emergency situations, Flight Dispatchers must quickly come up with the alternate routes and emergency landing approvals.

“One of the most important and most satisfying parts of working as a Flight Dispatcher is when your knowledge and experience helps you make such a flight plan that saves the travel time and lowers the fuel costs. If you know that, for example an Atlantic drift is strong on the transatlantic flights, you make that aircraft go higher or lower and here you have it – a few tons of saved fuel and ten minute shorter flight. That is the real job satisfaction!” continues Giovanni about his every day job.

Flight Dispatcher training and work specifics

Flight Dispatcher training is not long, however it is very intensive. Usually, training program is divided into two equal parts – theoretical classroom training and hands-on experience. A lot of times, theory just cannot reflect the intensity and responsibility that this occupation possesses. Once the training is done and student gets a job – the real nerve wrecking period begins. “Making your first decision about the flight route is very difficult, because you realize the weight of it on the airline, pilots, and passengers. It is very unsettling, however, having a good supervisor who constantly keeps an eye on your job is a motivation and soon you don’t realize how things are falling into places and you feel comfortable with the urgent decision making”, shares his thoughts about the first work days Giovanni.

According to Giovanni Brusa, Flight Dispatcher training has changed over the years, because the rules and regulations have changed which required fast adaptation to the market needs. Today, Flight Dispatcher work is highly regulated, therefore, during the training, students are taught all about the flight safety, and of course the responsibilities and paper work involved in planning an efficient and safe flight.

What kind of person it takes to become a Flight Dispatcher

Multitasking, multitasking and once again, multitasking. Flight Dispatcher daily work is different every single day. And it is not surprising, because just like the weather, there is sun or clouds above the Operations Control Center. The worse the weather, the more difficult flight planning becomes, therefore, Flight Dispatchers learn something new every day. It involves constant learning and quick adaptation to change, as well as fast reaction time to make an important decision in a highly stressful environment. And that is not an overstatement when describing Flight Dispatcher daily work. To mention other key skills needed for the Flight Dispatcher is active listening, speaking, coordination, and reading comprehension.

From the variety of forums that we read, people that we spoke to, we only heard that being a Flight Dispatcher is very interesting job. Even those people who had nothing to do with aviation their whole life fall in love with it after a few years.

Flight Dispatcher job perspective

Flight Dispatchers, just like the airline pilots are needed the most in the regions where aviation is booming. Those definitely involve majority of Asia and Middle East regions. According to Giovanni, United Kingdom, Germany and Spain are also in demand for Flight Dispatchers. Overall, Flight Dispatcher occupation is expected to experience 11% to 20% growth until 2020.

Source: BAA Training