The unsung heroes of the airline business

Question: When weather causes thousands of flights to be canceled at once, it must cause a nationwide chain reaction. How do airlines handle such massive shifting of aircraft after storms?

— John, West Lafayette, Ind.

Answer: It is very difficult. When the weather causes major disruptions, the airlines bring in extra help in their dispatch centers. This is known as irregular operations or irregular ops.

Airplanes, passengers, cargo and crewmembers are in the wrong place. In addition, scheduled maintenance cannot be performed when the airplane is in the wrong location. The dispatchers, schedulers, maintenance planners and passenger assistance specialists work together to minimize the effect on the airline. These professionals are highly skilled at rebuilding the operation as quickly as possible. Sometimes the rebuilding takes days and results in major delays for passengers, but it is amazing to see how quickly they can get the airline operating normally.

Q: How do the airlines ever catch up when they have to cancel thousands of flights in a winter storm, especially considering that the following flights are probably booked up, too?

— B. Whipple, Spokane, Wash.

A: During irregular operations, airlines will operate special flights to add seats between cities. Any empty seats on regularly scheduled flights are used. With few open seats, it can take days after a widespread storm to recover.

Irregular operations are very trying for the passengers, crews, maintenance and airline overall. The flight dispatchers, crew schedulers and passenger assistance specialists working in the operations center put in long hours with little sleep while doing a remarkable job. They are the unsung heroes of the industry.

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