Diversions

We had known that this was a possibility, even though we didn’t have an alternate on our flight plan. While the forecast had called for conditions to be in our favor at our arrival time, we knew that the later forecast was for storms, and summer being summer, those storms could come earlier, later, or even not at all. However, we had been given some extra fuel, and as soon as we heard that holding was taking place, we started looking at our options.

In the pre-WiFi, pre-iPad days, this would have been much more tedious as we tried to establish radio communications with our dispatchers to come up with a plan of action. However, in the modern age, with the ability to see the radar on our iPads while communicating with our dispatchers via the aircraft communications addressing and reporting system (ACARS, which is basically an onboard email system), along with a few in-house tools, we could put together a solid plan well in advance of the actual diversion. My company has a tool on our iPads that allows us to see which airports are listed as alternates, as well as how many flights are actually diverting to those alternates. This is powerful information, because it prevents crews from all bugging out to the same airports, which can overwhelm the stations and create even more onerous delays for the passengers. In some cases, it can also deplete the fuel supply at stations.

In our case, we were down to three or four good options based on the current weather, as well as the movement of the weather throughout the rest of the day. We didn’t want to be stuck having to penetrate the storms after refueling, and we also wanted to be sure we could get to an airport where a gate would be available, which would allow the passengers to deplane. This is a key consideration under the Passenger Bill of Rights law. We pulled up the weather for the possible divert sites, and then began computing our hold time and fuel burn based on the distances. Our dispatcher ran several options with his more accurate software, and we came up with a plan of action. As soon as the controller announced that our hold would be extended, we made the decision to divert, in our case to another hub airport. This was strategic: our own station would be faster and better equipped to help passengers that might want to get off, fuel would be cheaper, company maintenance would be available—we had a few small items that needed to be fixed—and finally, because it was a base, spare crews would be available if we were forced to cancel. The operational impact would be minimized.

We were the second airplane to land, behind a wide-body, and at least a dozen other flights from multiple airlines followed. But our thought process paid off. ATC almost always releases diverted flights in chronological order, and we were the third airplane off the field. Our passengers with connections either made their flights or were in position to get another flight out faster than they would have if we had we cancelled or waited too long to divert.

We landed at our destination almost five hours late, but safety had never been compromised, and fuel had never been in question. It was a long day for all of us, but frequent announcements helped ease the anxiety of the passengers, who graciously thanked us when we finally got to the destination gate. This was just one of those days where Mother Nature was going to get her way, no matter what, and all you can do is roll with the punches. But diversions need to be well planned and executed, and with a little help from our friends in ATC and dispatch, we were well-prepared for ours, resulting in minimal cost and disruption to the company and the passengers who rely on us.