Description

As part of the requirements for approval of an Air Operator Certificate (AOC), the National Aviation Authority (National Aviation Authority (NAA)) will specify the required contents of the Company Operations Manual. These requirements may be embodied within the Regulations published by the National Authority or they may be set out in a separate publication such as UK CAA publication CAP 789 - Requirements and Guidance Material for Operators. In either case, a critical aspect of of the guidance provided concerns the requirement to publish the specific tenets of the Company fuel policies within the Operations Manual.

Company Operations Manual - Fuel Policy

In accordance with the National guidelines of the State of Registration, the Company may be required to publish policy on any or all of the following fuel related topics within their Operations Manual:

• minimum dispatch fuel
• dispute resolution policy to be used in the event that the Commander and the Dispatcher do not agree on the required fuel amount
• fuel uplift verification inclusive of guidance for reconciling fuel uplift discrepancies
• policy/guidance on the uplift of fuel in excess of basic flight plan requirements for issues such as
  • weather
  • anticipated delays
  • airspace congestion
  • Minimum Equipment List (MEL) or Configuration Deviation List fuel penalties
• contingency fuel minimum amounts and policy for pre-departure utilization
• single engine taxi criteria (or the appropriate equivalent for 3 and 4 engine aircraft)
• fuel monitoring and recording policy
• specify fuel policy for non-standard operations such as remote destination or extended range flight
• specify by aircraft type the Final Reserve Fuel amount
• specify actions to be taken when it appears likely that Final Reserve Fuel will be reached
• specify actions to be taken if Final Reserve Fuel is reached
• actions to be taken when it appears insufficient fuel remains to continue the flight as planned
  • enroute options such as change of alternate, change of routing, reduction of airspeed, change of destination
  • actions to be taken when fuel remaining reaches minimum diversion fuel
• specific policy on when a fuel emergency must be declared (PAN or MAYDAY)

Related Articles

• Fuel - Diversion to Weather Alternate
• Fuel - Flight Planning Definitions
• Fuel - In-Flight Management (Abnormal Operations)
• Fuel - In-Flight Management (Normal Operations)
• Fuel - Preflight Planning
• Fuel Management
• Fuel - Regulations

Further Reading

• EASA SIB No 2018-08: In-Flight Fuel Management — Phraseology for Fuel-Related Messages between Pilots and Air Traffic Control, May 2018