Flight Operations Manager
A flight operations manager works for an airline and is responsible for the planning and monitoring of aircraft flights.Flight operations managers are based in an operations control centre from where they take responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the airline, monitoring flights to ensure they are running on time and also maintaining personnel schedules to ensure that all aircraft are adequately staffed. They also have to make sure that all flights are compliant with all relevant legislation.
Flight operations managers are also involved in the planning of flights; ensuring that flights are scheduled so that they are operated cost-efficiently whilst also meeting customer demand. As part of this they can also be involved in applying for flight and landing permits at airports around the world. They may also have to negotiate with ground services companies to make sure that services such as passenger support and baggage handling are available when required.
As part of their work, flight operations managers also have to be ready to react to any issues that arise, such as bad weather or problems with aircraft. They may have to make decisions very quickly, ensuring the commercial performance of the company whilst also taking the safety of passengers into consideration. Flight operations managers also liaise closely with air traffic control and other organisations that provide services within an airport, as well as the airport authorities themselves, to make sure that the airline can operate smoothly.
Newly recruited flight operations managers can earn from £25000 with more experienced managers earning up to approximately £50000.
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Working environment
Flight operations managers spend the majority of their time in the operations control centre, which is based at an airport. They will usually have a view of the airfield and will have equipment that enables them to track aircraft performance (such as landing and take off times) as well as computer, which they will use to maintain performance data and to undertake planning activities.A normal working day for a flight operations manager can be up to 10 hours, and they may be required to work in shifts, including nights, weekends and bank holidays. Some companies require that flight operations managers are available (on call) at times when they are not at the airport.
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Skills and interests
Flight operations managers must be extremely well organised and have a good understanding of aviation and flight operations.Further skills that a flight operations manager requires include:
- the ability to work to deadlines and make sound decisions
- good communication and leadership
- planning; including working with large amounts of complex data
- able to respond quickly and efficiently to changing situations and new challenges.Go Back
Entry into the role
Flight operations managers normally need to have worked in aviation, and particularly in flight operations for some time before they can move into the role. Flight operations managers can start out as flight operations assistants and officers, load planning officers or aircraft dispatchers for example.Flight operations managers need to have a sound basic education, with strong skills in working with numbers and good language skills. They also need to have experience in roles that require organisation and planning.
Airlines are the main employers of flight operations managers, and roles can be advertised through airlines' company websites and through specialist aviation recruitment websites.
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Opportunities
Flight operations managers can progress in their careers to take on more leadership and management responsibilities. They can move up to become performance managers or heads of operations.Go Back