| Term | Definition | Detailed Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| A/C | Aircraft | Aircraft tail #. Abbreviation of “Aircraft”. |
| A/P | Airport | Abbreviation of “Airport”. A civil aerodrome designed for the take-off and landing of passenger-carrying aircraft for the general public and/or cargo aircraft. |
| ACARS | Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System | Abbreviation of Aircraft Communications, Addressing and Reporting System. A digital data link system for the transmission of messages between aircraft and ground stations via radio or satellite. |
| ACM | Accumulated block time | The running total of Block Time (gate-to-gate) recorded by a crewmember or aircraft over a specific period |
| AD | Airworthiness Directive | Abbreviation of Airworthiness Directive. Legally enforceable regulations issued by the FAA in accordance with 14 CFR part 39 to correct an unsafe condition in a product. |
| Ad-hoc | Literally means, "for this." | Used to describe flights, services, or procedures that are arranged specifically for a particular purpose or task, rather than being part of a regular, scheduled timetable. Events that are created ad-hoc are created on-the-spot without prior planning, rather than from a template or an imported simm file. |
| ADC | Air Data Computer | A sophisticated electronic device integral to modern avionics systems, responsible for processing critical flight parameters. This device collects and computes data from various aircraft sensors, facilitating accurate flight planning and navigation. |
| ADF | Automatic Direction Finder | Abbreviation of Automatic Direction Finder. An electronic aid for air navigation that identifies the relative bearing of an aircraft from a radio beacon. |
| ADS-B | Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast | Abbreviation of Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast. A terrestrial aeronautical monitoring system, broadcasting (twice per second) position, altitude, velocity, aircraft ID, and other related avionics information. |
| AGL | Above Ground Level | Altitude measured above the ground level, as opposed to altitude above sea level (ASL). |
| AHRS | Attitude and Heading Reference System | Abbreviation of Attitude and Heading Reference System. An integrated GPS system for general aviation aircraft that provides three-dimensional orientation data, including roll, pitch, and yaw angles, as well as heading information. |
| Aircraft Inspection/ Inspection | Maintenance inspection events in compliance with an operator's approved maintenance program | Limits may include total time, cycles, and calendar due inspection intervals. |
| Aircraft Swap | Also known as a tail swap or equipment change | The operational process of replacing one aircraft with another for a scheduled flight. Can occur due to maintenance issues, scheduling changes, or operational requirements. |
| AIRMET | Air Meteorological Information Report | A report issued by a Meteorological Watch Office (MWO) concerning the occurrence or expected occurrence of specified en-route weather phenomena which may affect the safety of low-level aircraft operations. |
| AOC | Aircraft Operator Certificate | The AOC provides the basis for aviation authorities, such as the FAA or Transport Canada, to regulate the activities of operators, to authorize an air operator to commence operations, and to exercise the continued safety oversight of the operator. |
| AOG | Aircraft on Ground | A term in aviation maintenance indicating that an aircraft is temporarily unairworthy (unable to continue in-service due to technical, maintenance or engineering failures). |
| ARC | Airworthiness Review Certificate | A certificate issued by a national aviation authority indicating compliance with airworthiness directives. A valid Certificate of Airworthiness (CoA) is required to operate a commercial aircraft. |
| ARTCC | Air Route Traffic Control Center | A facility established to provide air traffic control service to aircraft operating on instrument flight rule (IFR) flight plans within controlled airspace and principally during the en route phase of flight. |
| Arv | The arrival airport | The arrival airport. |
| ArvT | Arrival time | The arrival time. |
| ASOS | Automated Surface Observing System | The primary surface weather observing system in the United States, which supports the essential aviation observation programs of the National Weather Service (NWS), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Department of Defense (DOD). Provides real-time meteorological data at airports. |
| ASR | Airport Standby Reserve | Airport/standby reserve means a defined duty period during which a flightcrew member is required by a certificate holder to be at an airport for a possible assignment. |
| ATC | Air Traffic Control | A service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through controlled airspace. |
| ATIS | Automatic Terminal Information Service | A continuous, automated broadcast of essential information (such as weather conditions, active runways, and pertinent NOTAMs), recorded for arriving and departing aircraft at busy airports. |
| ATO | Airline Training Organization | An organization responsible for providing training to airline personnel, including pilots and cabin crew. |
| AWB | Airworthiness Bulletins | A non-mandatory advisory document issued by a national aviation authority to alert, educate, and provide safety recommendations to aircraft owners and maintainers regarding specific airworthiness concerns. |
| Base | An airport code, either 3 or 4 characters | An airline base is an airport where many operations are processed through, for that specific airline. This means an airport may be a base for one airline, but it is not a base for another. |
| Bid Category | A set of bases, positions, and equipment (or only a single base, position, or equipment) whose schedules a crewmember may create bids for. | An FCMS configuration. |
| Bid Line | A schedule for a given bid period | A single bid line will correspond to a single person's schedule. Multiple lines can be bid on for each person. |
| Bid Period | A span of time that schedules are created for | Bid periods may or may not coincide with calendar months at the operator's discretion. Bid periods may be grouped together into bid groups. |
| Bidding | Process of submitting a request. | Crew members submit bids requests. |
| Blk Dur | Block duration | The total elapsed time from the moment the aircraft first moves from the departing gate ("OUT") until it comes to a final stop at the arrival gate ("IN"), including all taxi time. |
| Blk In | IN time | The precise moment the aircraft comes to a complete stop at its destination parking position. |
| Blk Out | OUT time | The precise moment the aircraft first moves under its own power or via pushback from its departure parking position to begin the flight. |
| Breadcrumb trail | A horizontal listing indicating the order of navigation to the current page or directions to a target page | Example: Home Page > Administration > Management > Users |
| BTM | Block time | The time of a flight measured from the start of movement out of the parking position ("off-block") to the end of movement ("in-block"). Includes taxi times. |
| CAA | Civil Aviation Authority | The governmental entity or entities, that are directly responsible for the regulation of all aspects of civil air transport, technical (i.e. air navigation and aviation safety) and economic (i.e. the commercial aspects of air transport) within a specific country or region. |
| CAMO | Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization | A civil aviation organization authorized to schedule and control continuing airworthiness activities on aircraft and their parts. |
| CARs | Canadian Aviation Regulations | The mandatory set of rules and standards established under the authority of the Aeronautics Act that govern all aspects of civil aviation within Canada. |
| CAT | Commercial Air Transport | An aircraft operation to transport passengers, cargo or mail for remuneration or other valuable consideration. |
| Category | Describes information about a crewmember | Includes their position at the company, the type of aircraft they can fly, and which airport they are based at. |
| CFI | Certified Flight Instructor | An individual who has met the requirements to teach and provide flight instruction to student pilots. |
| Checkride | Evaluation flight conducted to assess pilot proficiency | Typically performed periodically as part of pilot training and certification. |
| Crew Briefing | Meeting before a flight to discuss flight details | Includes weather conditions, route, fuel requirements, and any special instructions. |
| Crew Pairing | Sequence of flights contained in legal duty periods. | Each duty period within a crew pairing contains complete information of that duty from report time of the first flight to the release time of the last flight in the duty period. |
| Crew Stats/FAR Stats | A specialized dialog that will show important flight and duty time totals for a particular crewmember | The stats shown vary depending on which ruleset the trip is operating under. |
| Crewmember | Someone who acts as part of a flight crew on one or more flights | Common examples include captains, first officers, and flight attendants. |
| CRM | Crew Resource Management | Training that emphasizes communication, teamwork, and decision-making among flight crew members. |
| CSP | Crew Schedule Page | Admin page where multiple crewmember schedules can be seen for a given period of time. Schedule changes can be made quickly on this page, and its many features make it a hub for crew schedulers. |
| Customs Clearance | Regulatory approval for international cargo or passengers | Process of documenting, inspecting, and receiving approval from government authorities to legally import or export goods across international borders. |
| Cycles | One flight is one cycle | Cycles can be used in creating aircraft inspections. |
| Day of Ops | Activities and tasks related to daily flight operations | Includes pre-flight planning, crew briefing, aircraft preparation, and post-flight tasks |
| Deadhead | A flight taken by a crew member as a passenger for the purpose of company duty. | Often occurs when crew members need to reposition to another location for duty |
| Dep | The departure airport | The designated airport or specific location from which an aircraft initiates its flight. |
| Deplane | Number of passengers leaving after arrival | The total count of passengers exiting an aircraft after it has arrived at a gate or parking stand. |
| DepT | Departure time | The precise time at which an aircraft departs from the gate or parking stand to begin its taxi. |
| DGCA | Directorate General of Civil Aviation | A regulatory body responsible for civil aviation oversight in various countries. |
| Dispatcher | Certified flight operations specialist | Assist in planning flight paths, taking into account aircraft performance and loading, enroute winds, thunderstorm and turbulence forecasts, airspace restrictions, and airport conditions. |
| DME | Distance Measuring Equipment | A combination of ground and airborne equipment which gives a continuous slant range distance-from-station readout by measuring time-lapse of a signal transmitted by the aircraft to the station and responded back. |
| DMI | Deferred Maintenance Item | A maintenance task that has been deferred - meaning it does not have to be accomplished for the aircraft to be able to fly. There can be restrictions to the operation of the aircraft associated with a DMI until the maintenance task has been completed. |
| DSP | Daily Schedule Page | Central hub for day-to-day management of the schedule in FCMS. Provides many tools useful to dispatchers. |
| DTM | Duty time | The total elapsed period from the moment a crewmember reports for an assignment until they are officially released from all work-related responsibilities. |
| Duty Free Time | Period of time off | A period of time that a crewmember is free from all responsibilities or the requirement to be available for duty or other company-directed assignments. |
| Duty Period | A set period of time during which a user is working | Many FAA regulations place restrictions on various aspects of a duty period, such as rest required before/after a duty period or a max number of hours a crewmember can be flying within a single duty period. |
| Duty Time | Performing company work and excludes legal rest. | Total time obligated to the company for the purpose of work. |
| Duty Time Limit | Requirement set by the FAA that limits the amount of time crewmembers can spend on duty. | The specific way duty is defined may vary from airline to airline, or ruleset to ruleset. |
| EFB | Electronic Flight Bag | A digital device or application used by pilots to replace traditional paper-based flight materials. |
| EGPWS | Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System | An advanced version of the GPWS that provides additional features and capabilities. |
| ELT | Emergency Locator Transmitter | A device installed in aircraft to transmit a distress signal in the event of an emergency. |
| Employee quals page | Accessed by clicking on a single user's name while on the Employees page | The Employee Qualifications Page allows administrators to schedule, create, and sign off on employee completion events, as well as view the status of an employee's quals or add a new qualification. |
| Enplane | Number of passengers boarding | The process of passengers boarding an aircraft. |
| EPR | Engine Pressure Ratio | A measure of the ratio of the turbine discharge pressure to the engine inlet pressure. |
| Eqp | The equipment type assigned to each leg of a trip | Refers to the specific model of aircraft. |
| ETOPS | Extended-Range Twin Engine Operations Performance Standards | A set of safety regulations governing the operation of twin-engine aircraft on long overwater routes. |
| EVMS | Earned Value Management System | A term used in and outside of Aviation for program management. It determines how well a project is going based on the percent completed compared to the actual and the forecasted hours worked. |
| FAA | Federal Aviation Administration | The regulatory body responsible for civil aviation in the United States. |
| FAF | Final Approach Fix | A specified point on an instrument approach procedure where the final approach segment begins. |
| FARs | Federal Aviation Regulations | The rules governing civil aviation in the United States |
| FBO | Fixed-Base Operator | A commercial enterprise that has been granted the right by an airport authority to operate on that airport and provide aviation services, such as fuel, parking and hangar space, to the General Aviation (GA) community. |
| FDP | Flight duty period | A period that begins when a flightcrew member is required to report for duty with the intention of conducting a flight, a series of flights, or positioning or ferrying flights, and ends when the aircraft is parked after the last flight and there is no intention for further aircraft movement by the same flightcrew member. A flight duty period includes the duties performed by the flightcrew member on behalf of the certificate holder that occur before a flight segment or between flight segments without a required intervening rest period. Examples of tasks that are part of the flight duty period include deadhead transportation, training conducted in an aircraft or flight simulator, and airport/standby reserve, if the above tasks occur before a flight segment or between flight segments without an intervening required rest period. |
| FDR | Flight Data Recorder | A device that records flight parameters for accident investigation purposes. |
| FIS | Flight Information Service | A service providing flight information to pilots, including weather updates and traffic advisories. |
| FL | Flight Level | A measure of altitude in hundreds of feet above a standard pressure level of 29.92 inches Hg. |
| Fleet | Group of aircraft | The total collection of aircraft owned, operated, or managed by a single entity, which may consist of a single Make, Model, and Series (M/M/S) or a diverse mix of multiple aircraft types. |
| Flight Dispatcher | Individual responsible for flight planning and logistics | Coordinates with pilots, air traffic control, and ground services to ensure safe flight operations. |
| Flight Leg | Segment of a trip consisting of one takeoff and landing | A flight leg can be part of a larger trip itinerary, connecting different airports. |
| Flight Ops | Department responsible for managing flight operations | Oversees scheduling, dispatch, crew management, and flight planning |
| Flight Release | Formal authorization to conduct a flight | The official document, required for commercial operations under instrument flight rules (IFR), that authorizes a flight to depart after the pilot-in-command and the flight dispatcher have mutually verified that the flight can be conducted safely in accordance with regulations and company procedures. |
| Flight Rule Sets | Regulatory frameworks that govern specific aspects of flight operations. | Example: FAR117, FAR135, or CAR. These rules define standards for pilot duty time, aircraft operations, safety protocols, and crew requirements. |
| Flight time limit | Requirement set by the FAA that limits the amount of time crewmembers can spend actively flying on an aircraft. | Note that being a passenger on an airplane does not count as actively flying that airplane. |
| Flt Dur | Flight duration | Does not include taxi times. |
| Flt Off | OFF time | The actual time an aircraft becomes airborne, specifically the moment the landing gear leaves the runway surface (also known as "Wheels Up" or Actual Time of Departure). |
| Flt On | ON time | The actual time an aircraft makes contact with the runway surface during landing (also known as "Wheels Down" or Actual Time of Arrival). |
| FMC | Flight Management Computer | A computer system that automates various in-flight tasks, including navigation and fuel management. |
| FMS | Flight Management System | A computerized avionics system that automates navigation and flight planning tasks. |
| Gate PID | Gate Passenger Information Display | The digital screen located at an airport boarding gate that displays critical flight information, such as the flight number, destination, boarding time, and current status. |
| GPWS | Ground Proximity Warning System | A system that provides alerts to pilots if the aircraft is in danger of colliding with the ground. |
| Ground Time | Time spent on the ground between flights | Includes time for aircraft turnaround, boarding, deplaning, and maintenance checks. |
| Heated warning | Increasingly severe warning colors | Appear on flights to indicate when a crewmember is about to exceed one of their limits. |
| HUD | Heads-Up Display | A transparent display that presents data without requiring pilots to look away from their usual viewpoints. |
| IATA | International Air Transport Association | The International Air Transport Association is a trade association of the world's airlines. |
| ICAO | International Civil Aviation Organization | A specialized agency of the United Nations that sets standards and regulations for international aviation. |
| IFR | Instrument Flight Rules | Rules governing flight under conditions where flight by outside visual reference is not possible. |
| IFR Dur | Duration of flight that was flown on instruments | The estimated or actual amount of time a flight conducts operations under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), typically measured from the moment of takeoff to the moment of landing. |
| ILS | Instrument Landing System | A precision landing aid that guides aircraft to the runway during low-visibility conditions. |
| L/O, Layover | A trip that spans multiple days. | Usually will include an associated hotel. |
| LCR | Long Call Reserve | Long-call reserve means that, prior to beginning the rest period required by § 117.25, the flightcrew member is notified by the certificate holder to report for a flight duty period following the completion of the rest period. |
| Load Control | Aircraft load planning and weight distribution | A process under the responsibility of the aircraft operator, to verify that the weight and balance conditions of an aircraft are correct and within prescribed limits. |
| Logbook | Record of flight and duty times for crew members | Used to track flight hours, duty times, rest periods, and other relevant information |
| LSA | Light Sport Aircraft | A category of small, lightweight aircraft with simplified regulations for recreational flying. |
| M/M/S | Make/Model/Series | The identifying code for an aircraft. Each M/M/S must always be grouped under a fleet. |
| MEA | Minimum Enroute Altitude | The altitude for an en-route segment that provides adequate reception of relevant navigation facilities and ATS communications, complies with the airspace structure and provides the required obstacle clearance. |
| MEL | Minimum Enroute Level | The lowest Flight Level permitted for a specific portion of an enroute flight, ensuring that the aircraft maintains both safe obstacle clearance and reliable reception of navigation signals. |
| MEL | Minimum Equipment List | A document specific to each aircraft type, approved by aviation authorities, that outlines the minimum equipment required for safe flight operations under certain conditions. The MEL identifies aircraft systems, instruments, and components that may be inoperative or malfunctioning while still permitting the aircraft to be dispatched for flight. |
| METAR | Meteorological Aerodrome Report | An internationally standardized, coded bulletin for summarizing the meteorological conditions at aerodromes. |
| MFD | Multi-Function Display | A display instrument that provides a wide range of information, including navigation, weather, and aircraft systems. |
| MRD | Maximum Rest Discrepancy | The maximum difference allowed between scheduled and actual rest periods for crewmembers. |
| MSA | Minimum Safe Altitude | The minimum altitude that provides adequate clearance from terrain or obstacles in a given area. |
| MSAW | Minimum Safe Altitude Warning | A system that provides alerts to air traffic controllers if an aircraft is below the minimum safe altitude for its location. |
| MSL | Mean Sea Level | An aircraft's altitude relative to the average sea level. |
| MSP | Master Schedule Page | Crew facing page in FCMS where crewmembers can see the entire schedule for everyone in their category. Affords quick access to trading and mail features. |
| Multi-select checkbox | A checkbox field that will accept more than one selection | Often, not making any selections will cause the field to act as if every option was selected. Can be considered an "and" operator. |
| NAV | Navigation | In the context of the ICAO Flight Plan, NAV is a mandatory prefix used in Field 18 (Other Information) to declare an aircraft's advanced navigation equipment, specific performance capabilities (e.g., RNP), or operational authorizations (e.g., SBAS) required by Air Traffic Control. |
| NDB | Non-Directional Beacon | A radio transmitter that emits radio signals used as a navigational aid for aircraft. |
| Nesting | As in "Russian nesting dolls." | Refers to a process of placing one item within another so that they can all be accessed via a chain extending from the lowest level. |
| Night Dur | Duration of flight that was flown at night. | The total elapsed time of a flight conducted between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight. This is used by pilots to track night experience requirements for currency and certification. |
| Night LD | Whether the flight landed at night or not. | Indicates if the aircraft touched down during official night hours. Regulatory agencies (like the FAA) require a specific number of night landings within a 90-day period to carry passengers at night. |
| Night T/O | Whether the flight took off at night or not. | Indicates if the aircraft became airborne during official night hours. Like night landings, these are tracked to meet specific pilot recency requirements. |
| NOTAM | Notice to Airmen | A notice containing information concerning the establishment, condition or change in any aeronautical facility, service, procedure or hazard, the timely knowledge of which is essential to personnel concerned with flight operations. |
| NTSB | National Transportation Safety Board | The NTSB investigates every civil aviation accident in the U.S. and significant accidents in other modes of transportation. Based on their investigative findings and special studies, the board makes recommendations aimed at preventing future accidents. |
| Offline Segment | A segment that is not operated by the airline | Can be ground (surface transport) or flying (offline deadhead) segments. Flights cannot be edited to/from an offline type. |
| OOOI | Out Off On In | Refers to times of the actual aircraft movements of Gate Out, Wheels Off, Wheels On, and Gate In. |
| Open Time | Unscheduled flying assignments available for bidding | Typically used to fill vacant flying slots or cover unexpected scheduling gaps |
| Organization Rules | Distinct from FAA required regulations | Organization rules can account for a variety of situations an airline may want to account for but are not tracked as an FAA instituted requirement. |
| OTP | On-Time Performance | The percentage of flights that arrive or depart within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival or departure time. |
| Overflight Permit | Authorization to fly through foreign airspace | Official authorizations required for an aircraft to enter and fly over the airspace of a specific country. These permits are crucial for international flights, particularly in regions with complex airspace management or sensitive geopolitical environments. |
| Pairing | A set of flights assigned to a crew member for a trip | Sequence of flight segments and layovers that constitutes a complete duty assignment spanning one or more days. |
| PAPI | Precision Approach Path Indicator | A system of lights on the side of an airport runway threshold that provides visual descent guidance information during final approach to help pilots maintain the correct approach angle to the runway. |
| PAX | Total number of passengers | The total count of non-crew individuals transported on an aircraft, used as the primary metric for calculating payload, weight and balance, and revenue per flight. |
| PBS | Preferential Bidding System | A system that allows crew members to bid for preferred schedules based on personal preferences and contractual rules |
| PFD | Primary Flight Display | Found in an aircraft equipped with an Electronic Flight Instrument System, a PFD is the pilot's primary reference for flight information. The unit combines the information traditionally displayed on several electromechanical instruments onto a single electronic display reducing pilot workload and enhancing situational awareness. |
| PFDP | Post Flight Duty Period Reserve | Term of art for eTT. Functionally same as ASR; however, explicitly means the crewmember may leave the airport during the period, subject to potential recall for the remainder of the relevant Flight Duty Period (FDP). |
| PNR | Passenger Name Record | A record in the airline reservation system containing information about a passenger's itinerary. |
| PPL | Private Pilot License | A type of pilot license that allows an individual to fly as the pilot in command of an aircraft for personal use (i.e., not for remuneration). |
| RAIM | Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring | A technology that enables GPS receivers to assess the integrity of satellite signals. It ensures the reliability of GPS-based navigation by detecting and alerting pilots to any anomalies in the satellite signals. |
| Reserve | Status of being available for assignment as needed | Reserve crew members are on standby to fill in for absent or unavailable crew members. |
| Resources | A schedulable item that is not a person. | Examples include aircraft, classrooms, simulators, etc. |
| Rest | A period free from duty | "Rest must be: 1. Determined prospectively (i.e., must be known in advance). 2. Continuous. 3. Free from all restraint by the certificate holder, including freedom from work or freedom from present responsibility for work should the occasion arise." |
| RII | Required Inspection Item | A maintenance task that requires an inspector sign off before the task can be completed. These task are generally critical to the operation of the aircraft. |
| RNAV | Area Navigation | RNAV is an instrument-based navigation method that allows aircraft to fly on any desired flight path within coverage. |
| RNP | Required Navigation Performance | An approach in aviation is a type of instrument approach procedure that utilizes precise navigation capabilities, allowing aircraft to fly a predetermined path with a high degree of accuracy. RNP approaches are part of Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) and are defined by their ability to monitor and maintain the navigation performance required for a specific operation within a defined airspace. |
| Rolling Clock | Refers to regulations where 24 hour lookback periods are enforced | Refers to a regulatory monitoring method where flight and duty time limits are calculated based on a moving lookback window rather than a fixed calendar day. |
| Roster | Schedule of assigned flights and duties for crew | Provides crewmembers with details of their upcoming flights and work assignments. |
| Ruleset | Set of rules and regulations governing crew scheduling | Typically includes duty time limits, rest requirements, and flight duty period limitations. |
| RVR | Runway Visual Range | A measure of visibility along a runway, important for determining landing and takeoff conditions. Specifically, the range over which the pilot of an aircraft on the center line of a runway can see the runway surface markings or the lights delineating the runway or identifying its center line. |
| RVSM | Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum | Reduced vertical separation between aircraft in flight to increase airspace capacity. The principal concept behind RVSM is the reduction of the vertical separation minimum between adjacent aircraft from 2000 feet to 1000 feet between the Flight Levels FL290 and FL410 inclusive. |
| SB | Service Bulletin | A service bulletin (SB) is a document from an aircraft manufacturer that provides information about modifications that can be made to aircraft, such as product improvement or safety. SBs can also include required inspections, work instructions, part changes, or design changes. |
| Schedule Code | A denotative term that does not represent an actual event | Instead, schedule codes can represent anything else that the airline wants tracked visually but cannot be done with a shift or flight. |
| SCR | Short Call Reserve (for CFR 117) | Short-call reserve means a period of time in which a flight crewmember is assigned to a reserve availability period. Reserve availability period means a duty period during which a certificate holder requires a flight crewmember on short call reserve to be available to receive an assignment for a flight duty period. |
| SCR | Short Call Reserve (for all other rule sets) | A standby status requiring a crewmember to report to the airport within a short, specified timeframe, where duty time typically only begins upon reporting. |
| SIC | Second-in-Command | The pilot serving as the co-pilot in multi-crew aircraft. |
| SID | Standard Instrument Departure | Published flight procedures followed by aircraft on an IFR flight plan, typically used to transition from takeoff to en route flight. |
| SIGMET | Significant Meteorological Information | A meteorological report issued by a meteorological watch office that gives a description in abbreviated plain language of the occurrence and/or expected occurrence of specified en-route weather phenomena (such as severe thunderstorms or volcanic ash clouds), which may affect the safety of aircraft operations and the development of those phenomena in time and space. |
| Sim/Simulator | An aircraft simulator | A high-fidelity, full-size replica of a specific aircraft's flight deck, used by airlines to train new crewmembers before using real planes. |
| SMS | Safety Management System | An organized approach to managing safety, including policies, procedures, and risk management. |
| SOC | System Operations Control | The department responsible for overseeing and managing the operational aspects of flights. |
| Sprint | A development cycle | A standard FCMS development cycle lasts 3 weeks, though this can vary depending on the circumstances at the time. |
| Standby | Status of being ready to take over a flight if needed | Standby crew members are on call and available to fly on short notice. |
| STAR | Standard Terminal Arrival Route | Standardized arrival procedures for aircraft, used to transition from en route flight to approach and landing. |
| System Setting | A configuration that cannot be removed and may have limited editing capabilities enabled | These configurations must exist for SkedFlex to work properly, therefore deleting them is not possible. |
| TAF | Terminal Aerodrome Forecast | A weather forecast specifically for an airport, covering a 24-hour period. |
| Tail/Tail# | The identifier for a particular aircraft. | This term is used to denote a specific airplane within a given fleet. |
| TAS | True Airspeed | True airspeed is Calibrated Airspeed (CAS) corrected for altitude and non-standard temperature, i.e. the speed of the aircraft relative to the air mass in which it is flying. |
| TAT | Total Air Temperature | Refers to the actual temperature of the air surrounding an aircraft, including the heating effects induced by the aircraft’s rapid movement through the atmosphere. Used to calculate True Airspeed (TAS). |
| TAT | Total Airframe Time | A value placed onto a given aircraft. The TAT indicates the total number of hours, to the tenth decimal place, that an aircraft has flown during its entire operational career. |
| TAT | Turnaround Time | In airport operations, TAT means the time from an aircraft landing to its next takeoff, covering passenger, baggage, and cargo handling. |
| TAWS | Terrain Awareness and Warning System | A safety system that provides alerts to pilots if the aircraft is in danger of colliding with terrain. |
| TCAS | Traffic Collision Avoidance System | An aircraft collision avoidance system designed to prevent mid-air collisions. |
| Template | A pre-existing set of parameters that can be used to create an event quickly, preventing repeat actions. | Used to configure SkedFlex products. |
| TFR | Temporary Flight Restriction | Temporary restrictions imposed on airspace due to special events, hazards, or security concerns. |
| Trip | A series of flights flown by a crew member | A scheduled sequence of flight segments and duty periods, beginning and ending at a crew member's domiciled base, that forms a complete work assignment. |
| Trip Trading | Exchange of scheduled trips between crew members | Allows crew members to trade trips to accommodate personal preferences or scheduling needs. |
| Tug | Ground vehicle used to push/pull aircraft | A specialized vehicle used to move aircraft on the ground. |
| UAS | Unmanned Aircraft System | An aircraft operated without a pilot on board, typically controlled remotely or autonomously. A drone. |
| ULD | Unit Load Device | Used as containers for baggage and cargo carried in the holds of suitably dimensioned and equipped aircraft and are secured so that they cannot move within the hold in flight. |
| VFR | Visual Flight Rules | Rules governing flight under visual conditions without the need for instrument guidance. |
| Violation | Any instance where a flight assignment or crew member's duty status exceeds regulatory (FAA) limits or internal organizational safety parameters. | When a crewmember exceeds any FAA imposed limit on their time or any parameters set via organization rules, the event causing that exceedance will turn red and will indicate what the problem is when hovering the mouse over it. |
| VMC | Visual Meteorological Conditions | Weather conditions that are generally clear, allowing for flight under visual flight rules (VFR). |
| VOR | VHF Omnidirectional Range | A ground-based navigational aid that provides aircraft with a bearing relative to the station. |
| Work Reminder | A notification that is automatically sent out every night at a time specified by a particular application setting | The notification is sent to everyone at the airline who is working the following day or has a schedule code for that following day that has been configured to send out work reminders. |