Adequate airport planning for non-ETOPS and WX minima

[d3adh3ad]

Hello,

I have recently got into a heated discussion with my colleague about the necessity of planning the enroute alternate for the purpose of our upcoming Atlantic crossing on a non-ETOPS flight. Since I don’t really have as vast of an experience as my older ops coworker, I started to doubt whether my understanding and interpretation of the EASA regulations on this subject are accurate. I’d like to point out that the company I work for does not possess the approval for ETOPS. Our COM states that “the maximum distance from an adequate airport for the flight with one engine inop is 820 NM (120min) for such and such a/c type.” The definition of the adequate aerodrome which can be found both in our COM and EASA docs states similarly that the adequate aerodrome, means an aerodrome on which the a/c can be operated, taking into account the applicable performance requirements and runway characteristics. NOTHING ABOUT THE REQUIRED WX MINIMA.

After carefully studying the AMC 20-6 and CAT.OP.MPA140 I have deduced, that for non-ETOPS operations, and at the planning stage, the weather conditions at the adequate airport which can be used for the ETP plotting do not have to meet any specific minima as it does in the case of the ERA (Dispatch minima for ERA). Keep in mind that for the purposes of this discussion and type of flight the fuel is not a factor, we are not trying to reduce the contingency down to 3%.


Therefore, after a brief explanation I’d like to ask the two following questions:

1. From a legal perspective and in light of the EU OPS rules, do I have to account for the weather at the adequate aerodromes when planning the route that allows the a/c to remain within 120 minutes from the mentioned adequate aerodromes along the route?
   
   
2. And again, from a legal perspective and in light of the EU OPS rules, do I even have to include the enroute alternate aerodrome if planning a non-ETOPS flight over, let’s say, the Atlantic?
   

I believe that in our argument there is confusion between the meaning and purpose of the adequate AD and ERA, which are clearly not the same thing. I explained that imo, we could have adequate airports planned to meet the 120 min diversion requirement but not all of them (or even none of them) have to be above the WX minima at the stage of planning the flight. I am only asking about the legality of such ops because naturally, I would think twice before releasing the a/c if all the diversion ADs along the route would forecast the wx way below the minimums. Idk maybe there's something I'm missing here. Thanks for your help and please forgive me if this is the 100th time someone asks this question. I just haven’t found any conclusive answer to this argument.