Sorry, givemewings....
By redcap, I mean the ground dispatcher. The OM-A does not define "critical to the operation". All it says is crew members(pilots & cabin crew IMHO)assigned to the flight. It also refers to authorised persons in another section but then fails to define any ground staff. It does provide a list of people authorised to occupy the jumpseat.
I will give you the OM-E reference.....but it does not say "any" time. It parrots the OM-A sentence and I would again argue context, although it is not clear.