Programme overview
Introduction:
Airline operations control and flight dispatch, with OCC disruption recovery, is a 5-day course for operations control centre controllers, flight dispatchers, crew control and maintenance control staff that ends with an OCC Disruption Recovery Plan for a simulated day. Delays spread across the network when dispatch releases, crew legality, aircraft rotations and maintenance deferrals are decided desk by desk without one recovery picture or decision log. Nominees already plan, release or monitor flights in an airline control centre, and the course is taught through a time-pressured simulation of a disrupted day. CoreConcept Training Center delivers this airline operations control course.
Course Objectives:
- Map OCC desk responsibilities for operational control, dispatch, crew control and maintenance control, including the joint responsibility shared by dispatcher and pilot in command
- Prepare a flight plan and dispatch release that accounts for aircraft performance, en-route winds, fuel policy and load sheet limits
- Assess weather forecasts, NOTAMs and MEL deferrals to decide whether a flight is released, released with restrictions or held
- Track crew duty and rest legality and aircraft rotations so that tail swaps and reserve call-outs keep the schedule flyable
- Select recovery options during irregular operations by weighing delay, cancellation, diversion, passenger connections and slot impacts
- Produce an OCC Disruption Recovery Plan with a decision log and on-time performance KPIs for a simulated disrupted day
Target Audience:
- Operations control centre duty staff responsible for the day-of-operations flight programme and recovery decisions
- Flight dispatch staff responsible for flight plans, dispatch releases and flight following
- Crew control staff responsible for tracking crew duty, rest and reserve cover on the day
- Maintenance control staff responsible for technical deferrals, aircraft serviceability and engineering liaison with the OCC
- Load control and station operations staff responsible for load sheets and departure readiness reports to the OCC
Course Outline:
Day 1: OCC Role, Operational Control and the Day-of-Operations Cycle
- Operational Control Concept and Dispatcher Joint Responsibility With Captain
- OCC Desk Structure Across Dispatch, Crew, Maintenance and Customer Desks
- Day-of-Operations Cycle From Schedule Handover to Next-Day Plan
- Operations Manual Delegation of Operational Control Authority
- OCC Current-State Review Using Delay Codes and Recovery Records
Day 2: Flight Planning, Dispatch Release, Fuel Policy and Load Control
- Computerised Flight Plan Build With Route, Winds and Performance
- Fuel Policy Elements From Trip Fuel to Discretionary Extra
- Dispatch Release Content, Sign-Off and Amendment Before Departure
- Weight and Balance Limits and Centre of Gravity Checks
- Load Sheet and Last-Minute Change Handling With Load Control
Day 3: Weather, NOTAMs, MEL Deferrals, Crew Legality and Aircraft Rotation
- Enroute Thunderstorm and Turbulence Forecast Assessment for Release
- NOTAM Filtering for Runway Closures, Navaid Outages and Restrictions
- MEL Deferral, Placard and Performance Penalty Review With Maintenance Control
- Crew Tracking Board for Flight Time, Duty and Rest Legality
- Tail Assignment and Aircraft Rotation Planning Across the Day
Day 4: Irregular Operations, Recovery Options and Disruption Decisions
- IROPS Trigger Recognition From Weather, Technical and Crew Events
- Recovery Option Set of Delay, Swap, Cancel and Divert
- Passenger Connection and Reaccommodation Impact Assessment for Cancellations
- Slot Loss, Curfew and Departure Restriction Impact on Recovery
- OCC Decision Log and Stakeholder Message Cascade During Disruption
Day 5: Simulation of a Disrupted Day and the OCC Recovery Plan
- Simulation Brief With Morning Weather Event and Technical Defect
- Live OCC Simulation Applying Release, MEL and Crew Checks
- Rotation Rebuild and Crew Reassignment Under Time Pressure
- On-Time Performance and Completion Factor KPI Dashboard Review
- OCC Disruption Recovery Plan Completion and Panel Debrief
Skills You Will Gain:
- Dispatch Release Preparation
- Fuel Policy Application
- Load Control Verification
- MEL Deferral Assessment
- NOTAM and Weather Screening
- Crew Legality Tracking
- Tail Swap Planning
- IROPS Recovery Decision-Making
Why Attend This Course:
- Hand an OCC Disruption Recovery Plan, with its decision log and KPI dashboard, to the head of operations control as a template for the next disrupted day
- Decide when to delay, swap aircraft, cancel or divert using crew legality, MEL status and passenger connection evidence
- Avoid illegal crew duties, unplanned aircraft groundings and cascading delays by checking deferrals and rotations before release
- Share the release checklist, NOTAM filter template and recovery option matrix with dispatch, crew and maintenance control colleagues
Conclusion:
Back at work, the participant gives the head of operations control an OCC Disruption Recovery Plan that sets the recovery option matrix, desk responsibilities, message cascade, decision log format and on-time performance KPIs for a disrupted day. The control centre uses it to agree who decides on delays, aircraft swaps, cancellations and diversions, and how dispatch, crew and maintenance control share one recovery picture. After its first real disruption, the unit should review the decision log, recovery time, crew legality breaches and on-time performance against the plan.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
What should participants know before the airline operations control and flight dispatch course?
Participants should already plan, release, track or support flights in an airline control centre, station or maintenance control unit. Bringing an anonymised delay report, a sample dispatch release or a recent disruption log helps them apply the simulation to their own operation.
How does the airline operations control and flight dispatch course differ from an airport operations or air traffic management course?
It works from the airline side: dispatch release, fuel, load control, MEL deferrals, crew legality and aircraft rotations. Airport operations courses cover stands, terminals and turnaround, while air traffic management courses cover airspace, flow measures and air navigation service performance.
Who holds operational control of a flight in airline operations control and flight dispatch?
Where a joint responsibility model applies, the flight dispatcher and the pilot in command share responsibility for the flight. The dispatcher plans and releases it, follows its progress and can delay, divert or cancel it within the operator's approved system.
What does a participant take back from the airline operations control and flight dispatch course?
Each participant takes back an OCC Disruption Recovery Plan built in the simulation, with a recovery option matrix, desk responsibility map, decision log format and on-time performance KPI dashboard that the control centre can adapt to its own fleet and network.