New ICAO Flt Operations Officer/Aircraft Dispatcher Course

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Let's start at the beginning...

Flight Operations Officer’s/Flight Dispatcher’s work in a very technical environment (at least most do), they make decisions which may/do affect flight safety they also make decisions which have a considerable impact on the economics of the airline they work for. FOO's/Dispatcher’s must interact with aircrew at the same level which most often requires technical knowledge equal to that of the aircrew. Airlines rely on FOO/Dispatcher’s to have sufficient knowledge of flight operations to be able to anticipate operational difficulties and be one step ahead of the aircrew. Ever wondered why the FAA Aircraft Dispatcher’s licence and the FAA ATPL licence written exams are the same exam paper?

The ICAO FOO/Flight Dispatcher’s licence course syllabus was updated 1998. That is the same ICAO which defines the standards for member states in terms of aircrew/air traffic licensing, procedures and operation of aircraft requirements. It IS the organisation which you in your ops room are impacted upon every day of your lives, from the format of the METAR and TAF you read to your crew, to the design and operational criteria which guides the layout of an airfield. ICAO is the international body, which sets the Standards we all operate to. Yes, JAROPS is also in there, but it all starts with ICAO and the Annexes. This is why in the UK CAA FODCOM 9/2001 the CAA references the ICAO syllabus as the standard to which UK airlines should be moving and including in part D of their operations manuals. This is recognition that your job requires a high degree of technical knowledge and that your role is firmly part of the airline's operational group.

So, is it surprising that the ICAO course for FOO/Dispatcher’s is comprehensive? It has to be, it is an international standard/recommendation that caters for the global requirement. You must appreciate that in the same way that a pilot sits an ATPL exam, which equips him/her with the knowledge for the rest of their flying career. That pilot may only be flying a twin engine air taxi operation from Liverpool to Southampton, but in the future he may be flying a B777 from London to Singapore, no one asks him to re-sit his licence do they? So to, there are Ops Officers who will start with the small air taxi outfit who will in future be flight planning that B777 over the pole or to the far east.

The course is about giving you the knowledge you will need at various times over the course of your career, it is NOT about your particular airline or what you do today. Also for most people entering airline operations this is the beginning of their career, I think most would agree that having a solid grounding in the flight operations aspects of an airline is foundation knowledge.


It is true that training needs to keep pace with the times and the ICAO Doc 7192 D3 which defines the syllabus is under constant review. It has been updated and I know there is work ongoing to ensure it keeps up with the times. But, as with all things, unless you understand the basics you will not understand the complex. The Glasgow College course is aiming to keep to the spirit and intent of the course and will be working with three UK airlines to make sure it meets todays needs. It will not contain astro-navigation, nor will it force you to learn the physics of the upper atmosphere or arcane navigational techniques, as one commentator put it. But is MUST, equip you to operate in a modern airline and to enable you to interact with aircrew on technical issues so that they have confidence in you advice or decisions.

Mutt.. The website has only just be put up and the course content is still being worked.

peterc... Don't confuse the need for the experience and street wise ops knowledge with the need for a foundation in technical subjects, you had to learn to read a TAF somewhere, you at one time had to figure out what an ATC flight plan was. The course is to give those starting out or already in the business that knowledge. It does not replace the need to recruit 'people' with the ability to work in a busy ops environment doing 6 things at once. Further, the second part of the ICAO FOO/FD syllabus requires on the job training to get the 'good old hand on' Ops room skills, you don't learn those from a book in any walk of life.

boxjockey... you've just done the knowledge ! so what is your point? Are you suggesting that what you learned in doing the ATPL was a waste of time? When was the last time one of your pilots had to consider the E and F layers. You are doing this for your company BECAUSE you have done your ATPL and now have the knowledge. As you point out you are focused on what YOUR Company needs, this is tailored training and perfectly reasonable. The ATPL and the ICAO FOO/Dispatchers licence are general qualification to meet the international aviation requirements, do a JAR ATPL and you need do nothing else, it covers it all, do the ICAO FOO course and it the same.

Sorry to ramble on, but this is important. Let's raise the standard in our ops rooms, let's give those wannabe's a place to start their ops studies and training. Let's get a qualifation in the UK which meets our needs and gives our job the recognition that it has long deserved.