Fuel Requirements and Air Operator Certificate (Abdou Chakour AROUNA)

 Welcome to my blog!!!The airline industry is one of the biggest industry in the world.It has it is own rules that any company in the industry must follow.In this blog we will be discussing about two of those rules:

• Fuel Requirements
• The Air Operator Certificate

Fuel Requirements

Definitions

An aircraft shall carry a sufficient amount of usable fuel in order to complete the planned flight safely.The amount of fuel required shall include:

Additional Fuel

Additional fuel is fuel which is added to comply with a specific regulatory or company requirement.

Alternate Fuel

Alternate fuel is the amount of fuel required from the missed approach point at the destination aerodrome until landing at the alternate aerodrome. It takes into account the required fuel for:

·         Missed approach at the destination airport

·         Climb to enroute altitude, cruise and descent at alternate aerodrome

·         Approach at alternate

·         Landing at the alternate aerodrome

When two alternates are required by the Authority, alternate fuel must be sufficient to proceed to the alternate which requires the greater amount of fuel.

Ballast Fuel

Ballast fuel is sometimes carried to maintain the aircraft centre of gravity within limits. In certain aeroplanes, a zero fuel weight above a defined threshold requires that a minimum amount of fuel be carried in the wings through all phases of flight to prevent excessive wing bending. In both cases, this fuel is considered ballast and, under anything other than emergency circumstances, is not to be burned during the flight.

Contingency Fuel

Contingency fuel is carried to account for additional enroute fuel consumption caused by wind, routing changes or ATM restrictions. In general terms, the minimum contingency fuel is the greater of 5% of the trip fuel or 5 minutes holding consumption at 1500' above destination airfield elevation computed based on calculated arrival weight. However, some regulators, with special approval, allow reduction to 3% of trip fuel with use of enroute alternates or to specific time increments depending upon demonstrated performance criteria from the Operator. At least one authority allows, under very specific circumstances, for contingency fuel to be reduced to 0.

Extra Fuel

Fuel added at the discretion of the Captain

Final Reserve Fuel

Final reserve fuel is the minimum fuel required to fly for 30 minutes at 1,500 feet above the alternate aerodrome or, if an alternate is not required, at the destination aerodrome at holding speed in ISA conditions. Some Regulating Authorities require sufficient fuel to hold for 45 minutes.

Minimum Brake Release Fuel

Minimum brake release fuel is that quantity of fuel which, at the commencement of the takeoff roll, complies with all regulatory requirements for the flight in question. This is the minimum legal fuel required for departure.

Reserve Fuel

Reserve fuel is the sum of Alternate fuel plus Final Reserve fuel.

Taxi Fuel

Taxi fuel is the fuel used prior to takeoff and will normally include pre-start APU consumption, engine start and taxi fuel. Taxi fuel is usually a fixed quantity for an average taxi duration. However, local conditions at the departure aerodrome such as average taxi time, normal ground delays and any anticipated deicing delays should be taken into consideration and the taxi fuel adjusted accordingly.

Trip Fuel

The Trip fuel is the required fuel quantity from brake release on takeoff at the departure aerodrome to the landing touchdown at the destination aerodrome. This quantity includes the fuel required for:

·         Takeoff

·         Climb to cruise level

·         Flight in level cruise including any planned step climb or step descent

·         Flight from the beginning of descent to the beginning of approach,

·         Approach

·         Landing at the destination

Block Fuel

Block fuel is the total fuel required for the flight and is the sum of the Taxi fuel, the Trip fuel, the Contingency fuel, the Alternate fuel, the Final Reserve fuel, the Additional fuel and any Extra fuel 








AIR OPERATOR CERTIFICATION

Definition

An air operator certificate (AOC), sometimes alternatively described as an Air Operator Permit (AOP), is the approval granted from a national aviation authority (NAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets and systems in place to ensure the safety of its employees and the general public. This document will as a minimum detail the aircraft types which may be used, for what purpose and in what geographic region.

Categories

AOCs can be granted for one or more of the following activities:

·         Aerial surveying

·         Aerial spotting

·         Agricultural operations

·         Aerial photography

·         Aerial advertising

·         Fire fighting

·         Air ambulance or aeromedical

·         Flight Training

·         Charter

·         Public transport

Requirements

The requirements for obtaining an AOC vary from country to country, but are generally defined as:

1.       Sufficient personnel with the required experience for the type of operations requested,

2.       Airworthy aircraft, suitable for the type of operations requested,

3.       Acceptable systems for the training of crew and the operation of the aircraft (Operations Manual)

4.       A quality system to ensure that all applicable regulations are followed,

5.       The appointment of key accountable staff, who are responsible for specific safety critical functions such as training, maintenance and operations,

6.       Carriers Liability Insurance (for Airlines) - Operators are to have sufficient insurance to cover the injury or death of any passenger carried.

7.       Proof that the operator has sufficient finances to fund the operation

8.       The operator has sufficient ground infrastructure, or arrangements for the supply of sufficient infrastructure, to support its operations into the aerodromes requested.

9.       The certificate is held by a legal person who resides in the country or region of application

International variations

An AOC is referred to as a Air Carrier Operating Certificate in the USA.

                                                

                               Thank you for Reading!!!!!

                                                                                                                     Abdou Chakour Arouna

                                                                                                                                          130131605

                                                                              University of Turkish Aeronautical and Association