Don't let the passengers board the aircraft 

Announce 1hr30min delay and update every 30 minutes

Don't take perishables from warehouse 

Prepare meal/shopping vouchers 

 

Look for extra spare planes 

- If no planes, rebook them on another flight to abc 

- If no flights to abc then make them wait. 

Inform xyz hotel 

 

Find out any passengers that have tight connection 

Figure out what type of connections they have 

Give information regarding connection 

How to handle connection 

Inform abc manager about the delay 

Abc will ask about hotel availability 

Ask abc manager if there are any other connecting routes to their destinations.  

 

 

For cargo: 

Find another courier that can support/transport the cargo to abc. 

If not available, look into other airlines or wait till next flight

Stage 2 

Inform passengers about the delay continue to inform passengers about delay every 30 min

Inform ABC about the estimated departure and what time they would reach 

Ask crew if they want to extend/ find another crew if possible 

Provide snacks or supper for the passengers 

 Assign more engineers to help once the parts come in. 

Ask engineers to update 30 min before it is done so that loading of perishables and boarding of passengers will go smoothly. 

If rectification takes longer than the estimated time or is unable to be departed even after, 5 hours after waiting, put them in hotels 
Next possible flight would be the next day if the aircraft cannot be fixed by 

But if No space in the airport hotel 

Inform passengers that the new boarding time is at 2320 and expected departure time is 2340

Inform ABC of the new departing time and to prepare small tokens of apology to give out when the passengers reach and disembark the plane

Ground staff check if there is a need to refuel the aircraft 

Load cargo & perishables while waiting for passengers to board
Continue with the normal departure procedures

After the plane takes off, and reaches the point of no return, cancel all hotel agreements or

when they reach ABC, they will be informed of what to do regarding their connecting flights.

 Stage 4 

"Dear passengers, thank you for your kind patience. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we are sorry that we have to disembark you for your safety. Your safety is our top priority and we hope to seek your understanding. We have to ground the plane to continue checking the aircraft’s parts. We have arranged an accommodation at the airport’s hotel and refund you with the full fare but if you wish to persist your flight, we will help you to rebook new flights to ABC as soon as possible. Once again, we would like to thank you for your patience and understanding."

Worse Case Scenario: Loss of control during flight, Flight failure, Crash, Delay might be longer than 1.5 hours.

Notice to Pilot will be given. 

Put up flight delay notices and make announcement with update at every half an hour

Notice: Information board will display the delayed flight.

Mass send a message to all passengers: Airline ABC is sorry to inform you that flight  XY786 is delayed.

If the flight delay takes too long, assign passengers to next available flight based on priority.

Refreshments will be served to passengers.

If delay were to take up more than 1.5h, allow passengers to roam around in the airport with free vouchers given.  

Staffs must handle passenger’ questions.  

If delay is going to be longer than 3 hours, passengers will be allowed to rest at the lounge and if delay is longer than 6 hours, hotel will be prepared for passengers. 

Return the perishables back to the chilled storage. This storage area must have a fast delivery system back to the aircraft. 

Inform the relevant departments and F&B outlets on delay to brace for mass catering.

 

Announcement: This is an announcement for passengers on flight XY786 to ABC. The flight has been delayed as there is an engine issue detected, our engineers are now working on it. Estimated delay will be about 2 hours. Our staff will be assisting you shortly. Sorry for the inconvenience caused. 

Stage 2:

Time from actual departure: 3h.5m

Maximum allowable delay before it hits the crew flight time limitation: 2315hr

Flight crew: 

Inform the crew of the PETD, ask them if they are willing to exceed their flight time limitation by 15 mins to 30 mins in case of a slight delay when landing (traffic congestions etc). 

Contact FCC to check if here are any standby crews. Have extra crews as backup if any crews want to step down. If there is no extra crews, flight can only take place the next day. 

Provide extra engineers with the rectification work if possible.

Maintain close communication with engineers. Get engineers to inform airline 30 mins to 45 mins before aircraft is ready to takeoff so that perishables and baggages etc can be loaded accordingly so there would not be any further delays to load cargos and baggages.  

Passengers: inform them about the new expected departure time. Update and apologise to the passengers.

Depart earlier if rectification work is completed earlier than expected.

Inform Airport ABC of the PETD.

Stage 3:

Make an announcement updating the passengers of the situation and inform them to proceed to the boarding gate

As soon as the announcement has been made, loading of the aircraft should already be underway or completed (Perishable goods). 

If passengers having their meal (which is highly unlikely): Make an announcement 15 mins before the boarding gate closes, informing passengers to board the plane as soon as possible. (Taking into account that the passengers have been informed of the PETD and hence already assembled at the boarding gate.)

- Search for a spare aircraft that have enough carrying capacity to load all the passengers on the same fleet 

- Unload all the cargo 

- Place all the perishable cargo back to the storage immediately 

- Check if there is an additional set of crew on standby and how many there are, in case the delay would cause the current set of crew to exceed on their FDP 

- Check if any of the passengers have a connecting flight at ABC Airport, if any passengers have a connecting, they should be rebooked on another connecting flight at ABC Airport (or can check with the passengers if they prefer to have a direct flight to their final destination instead) 

 

- Provide compensations like vouchers and meals. 

- Provide dinner to the passengers 

- Provide a delay letter to the passengers so that they can claim insurance (if they have it) 

- Be ready to prepare hotel rooms for all the passengers. 

Inform the station manager at ABC airport about the delay, so that they can make arrangements if there are any clashes with connecting flights of passengers. 

 

- Do an announcement to the passengers why there will be a delay and how long it will take 

Continue giving announcements and updates every half an hour regarding the delay 

- Have a station staff on the ground to resolve any issues and enquiries the passengers have 
would in knowing what the passengers want 

 

Last option: 

Fly them on a different carrier if delay exceeds the time stated

Stage 2

 

 

 

Should the delay be longer than expected:

Stage 1 

-First inform the passengers that that is an urgent maintenance needed as there is a fault in the hydraulic system in the engine and it would need an estimated minimum time of 1hrs 30 mins to resolve the issue. 

-Compensate the passenger with vouchers, allowing them to roam inside the departure hall. Or if there is an urgent departure needed, can approach the staff members to arrange for a separate flight flying the same route to the destination. 

-Food and perishables will be moved to a cold storage facility to minimise spoilage.

-Meanwhile, we can look for means to better the situation. If there is a spare aircraft available at ABC station, we can use that aircraft instead. In any case, we have to find out more about the situation and keep passengers updated soon as possible. 

 

STAGE 2

-If the cargo hinders with the rectification works, we have to have them removed and transferred to the storage facility. 

-Ask the captain to if the crew are willing to exceed the flight time limitation. If not, we have to summon our standby crew. In the worst case whereby there is insufficient crew, we can check with WXY station if they have standby crew to send over along with the spare parts. 

-Check with the WXY station if they have a connecting flight towards XYZ that can carry some of the priority passengers and passengers with urgent matters such as death of a relative. 
-If nothing permits, we have update the passengers on the situation and the estimated time of departure. 

-If the flight sending over the required parts are delayed, we must urge the maintenance team and assign more workers to help with the rectification works. 
-We will also have to keep the passengers updated about the new estimated time of departure. 


STAGE 3
·        Inform passengers that the issue to resolved and the aircraft is scheduled to depart at 2330. 

·        If the captain and crew decides to extend the flight duty period, assign them to the aircraft. If not, send the standby crew.

·        Send the standby crew to the aircraft to prepare for the flight.

·        Prepare apology letters along with discount vouchers or frequent flyer miles for the next flight with the airline and hand them out when passengers board the aircraft

·        Everything unloaded such as cargo and perishables will be loaded back into the aircraft. 

·        Allow business class passengers followed by economy to board when preparations are completed (2300 preferably)

STAGE 4
-        Captain makes the announcement (safety is our top priority)

-        Dear passengers, we are really

-        As the captain n we have gone through this bit tgt and we are going to fly

-        Your safety is my outmost concern

-        If there is any doubt about the integrity of the airline

-        We will on the side of caution, because your safety is our priority 

Dear passengers, as the captain of the flight, I have to break a disappointing yet inevitable news to you. We have gone through this bit together, all the hassle, and we are supposed to fly right now. However, we have just received an information there the aircraft requires further checks for our safety. If there is any doubt about the integrity of the airline, I sincerely apologise once again and I can assure that this will less likely happen again in the future. We will stand on the side of caution because your safety is our priority. Once again, we apologise to you.

 

Contact passengers with a tight schedule and arrange for them to put them on the next available flight out of the station, even if it is on other airlines. Compensate them as well.

Crew Flight Time limitation exceeded 17 hours

As there is a likelihood where we would exceed the FDP for the flight crew and ground crew. We would contact the FCC to check for availability for spare flight crew and cabin crew in the case where current flight crew does not wish to practise extending and the pilot does not want to exercise his rights.

In the case where the FDP of the crew only exceeds 1 hr, communicate with the pilot and request for him to exercise his rights to exceed the FDP

Assuming that FDP exceeded and no spare crew available, flight would have to be cancelled (and rescheduled to next morning)

Inform passengers on the new departure time asap

Announcement made to passengers every 30 minutes

Food and drinks meant on the flight would be provided for them first as supper or dinner

New food would be cooked for the next morning since the delay has proved to be very long

Contact nearby hotels for a one-night stay

Transportation to and fro to the hotel

 

Announcement to be made at 2250: “Attention to all Passengers flying on flight XYZ 786 scheduled for departure at 8pm local time, bound for ABC. On behalf of XY Airlines, we are sorry about the inconvenience caused thus far. We have just received updates from ground engineers that the aircraft bound for ABC is fully serviceable and ready for departure. We are pleased to inform you that the estimated time of departure of flight XYZ 786 is now scheduled to be 11.30pm local time. Boarding will commence shortly. We seek your patience and kind understanding and we hope you have a pleasant flight with XY Airlines.”

Taking the assumption that the scheduled departure is at 11.30pm. Assuming all the procedure/actions which we have taken for stage 1 and 2

Since FDP has not been exceeded, the flight will not be cancelled and all passengers will be called back to board the plane. Station manager will state the boarding time to be 1130pm. 

At 22.50 straight after the confirmation from the engineers, contact ground handler to transfer perishable goods from the airport cold storage facility to the aircraft. 

General procedures for departure will be taking place. 

Perishable cargo, food removed from chiller and transported to 

Baggage transported and loaded onto the aircraft

Once they have finished their food, they will commence the boarding procedure.

Allow the First Class and Business Class to continue staying at the lounge until 30 minutes before departure. We would then transport this passenger with a buggy to the gate hold room.

 After the higher class passengers have boarded the aircraft, call  passengers with reduced mobility to board. Then followed by Economy class