Flight Dispatcher Training

In 2003 and 2004, the TNT Emergency Response team supported WFP Aviation by developing and implementing an Air Transport Officer and Air Movement Officer training programme. The team co-trained thirteen WFP aviation national and international staff in flight dispatch.

Project date: 2003 - 2004

I'm returning to Loki full of ideas and enthusiasm. I'm certain my training will make a difference. -Kennedy Munyua, Communications Officer at the WFP Flight Tracking Centre in Lokichoggio

The characteristics and operating conditions of WFP's Air Operations are naturally unlike those in the commercial world. To fully understand their specific requirements, the project team therefore needed to go to WFP field locations to assess and select candidates. The team conducted four one-week on-site flight induction courses to gain insight into WFP's Air Operations requirements. Twenty seven candidates were assessed in WFP locations in Kenya and Pakistan.

TNT provided advanced air operations training to these candidates at TNT facilities in Liége, Erfurt, Stansted and Paris. "Our main goal was to ensure that WFP has fully licensed air operations officers in key positions," says TNT Express project manager Getjan Lammers. In 2003, eleven WFP candidates took the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) knowledge test in October, and eight continued their training to earn the FAA flight dispatcher certificate in December. Every one of WFP's candidates passed with flying colours. Another five candidates obtained the flight dispatcher certificate in the first months of 2004.

WFP's candidates were terrific. They were among the best-prepared foreign students to take the exam. These results show what we can achieve if our two organisations work together. If we join forces, the sky's the limit. -TNT Express project manager Marco Hendriks.

*Flight Dispatcher
A flight dispatcher is a person responsible for planning and monitoring the progress of a flight. In airline operations, both the pilot in command and the dispatcher are legally responsible for the safety of a flight. A dispatcher has the authority to delay, divert or cancel a flight at any time, and a flight cannot be released without the signature of both the pilot in command and the dispatcher. (Source: Wikipedia)