A dispatch release assembled by agents and checked twice, every line cited, before the dispatcher and the captain sign it
Every release checked before signature, with a source behind every number.
See one case, screen by screen ↓Flight Dispatch Release is dispatch release software for Part 121 airlines: seven agents assemble each dispatch release from the flight plan, weather, NOTAMs and open MEL items, run the ETOPS checks and re-check the whole release independently. They raise only what needs a person, as one question with a proposed answer and its sources, in a conversation beside the release. The aircraft dispatcher signs and the captain co-signs on the EFB.
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A dispatch release is the joint safety decision behind every Part 121 domestic and flag flight: the aircraft dispatcher and the captain may sign it only if they both believe the flight can be made safely (14 CFR 121.663). The release itself is a few lines — aircraft, trip, airports, alternates, type of operation, minimum fuel and, for ETOPS, the diversion time, with the latest weather attached (14 CFR 121.687). Behind those lines sit the flight plan, six or more forecasts, hundreds of NOTAMs, the tail's open MEL items, the ETOPS alternate windows and the critical-fuel cases, each in a different system.
A dispatcher carries a desk of flights at once, and nothing checks the package as a whole before signature. The hard cases sit between departments: a deferred wing ice-protection channel is a maintenance item, the icing at an ETOPS alternate is a weather item, and the extra fuel is a planning item. When a tail swaps, a forecast drops below alternate minima or a new MEL item opens after signature, the release has to be rebuilt and signed again — and the record has to show why every choice was made.
Estimated split for one ETOPS release on a busy desk, by hand and with the solution, in minutes.
Seven agents assemble, check and re-check every release and raise only what needs a person; the dispatcher and the captain sign.
Thursday 15 October 2026, 12:41Z, Desk 7 in Corvane Airways' Denver operations control center. CV 118 to London, a 787-9 on an ETOPS 180 flag release, leaves at 14:20Z. The dispatcher works with the agents in a conversation beside each release: they assemble, check and propose; she asks, decides and signs. Here is what happens next, screen by screen, in the working solution.
Dana's rack shows one flight strip per departure in the next three hours, each with its release state in plain words: 4 ready to sign, 3 with one question, 1 re-release, 1 with the captain and 2 released. The agents assembled 11 releases and checked each one twice; CV 7 is still being assembled, 7 of 9 steps. In the conversation, the ETOPS agent has already flagged CV 118.
ETOPS agent: “CV 118: MEL 30-11-01 rules out KEF while it forecasts icing. I propose SNN, longest diversion 168 min, and 1,900 lb ETOPS fuel.”
The release agent assembled the release from flight plan OFP 118-1015-03, six forecasts, 212 NOTAMs and three open MEL items. Every line — trip, departure, destination, aircraft, type of operation, crew, alternates, ETOPS diversion time, route, fuel — carries a numbered source. 31 of 32 checks pass; the one that does not is on the ETOPS alternates line: “KEF: MEL relief not met”.
“One question, Dana. Replace KEF with SNN?”
N812CV carries MEL 30-11-01, left outboard wing ice-protection channel inoperative, whose relief allows no ETOPS alternate with forecast icing in its window. KEF's TAF 1206Z forecasts freezing drizzle and moderate icing from the surface to FL100, 19–23Z, across CV 118's KEF window of 19:24–21:58Z. SNN is clear from 19:40 to 22:40Z, and the longest diversion rises from 152 to 168 of 180 minutes.
Each alternate is checked from its earliest to its latest possible landing, as 14 CFR 121.624 asks.
Runway 16L/34R at Denver is closed 13:00–16:00Z, so the departure moves to 34L and takeoff performance is checked at the planned weight. Heathrow's 09L/27R closes 23:00–05:30 daily, so CV 118 lands on 27L at 23:38Z. Kangerlussuaq's fire cover drops to category 6 from 22:00Z, after its window ends at 21:10Z. Nothing is dropped: every NOTAM set aside is one click away.
The ETOPS agent answers in the strip's conversation. ETP 2 (BGSF/SNN) is the most fuel-critical point. Of the three 14 CFR 121.646 cases, decompression with all engines at 10,000 ft needs 41,300 lb, against 40,100 lb with an engine failure added and 33,800 lb for engine failure at FL220. The plan has 39,400 lb on board at ETP 2, so the shortfall is 1,900 lb.
Each case includes 5% added to the forecast wind, ice accretion with anti-ice in use, APU use and an approach and landing.
The MEL screen lists seven open deferrals on tails departing in the next six hours; three change a release. For 30-11-01 on N812CV the MEL agent shows the relief as it read it — “no ETOPS alternate with forecast icing in its window” — and asks Tom to confirm it. Only maintenance control defers or clears an item.
Dana clicks “Accept SNN” in the conversation. The release agent rebuilds the release as v4: ETOPS alternates YFB · BGSF · SNN, longest diversion 168 min, ETOPS fuel 1,900 lb, minimum fuel 142,700 lb, block fuel 146,100 lb. The checker agent re-runs on its own and agrees on 32 of 32. The strip turns “Ready to sign”.
The sign window repeats the ETOPS alternates, diversion time, minimum and block fuel, and attaches the DEN METAR 1253Z as the latest weather. Dana ticks “I believe this flight can be made with safety as released”, picks the reason code “MEL relief — ETOPS alternate changed” and can add a note for the captain. She signs at 13:05Z, and the release goes to Capt. Brandt's EFB.
“Signed with your operations sign-in. The release, its 14 sources and your signature are filed together and kept 24 months.”
In crew room B the EFB lists what changed since her 12:15Z briefing: ETOPS alternate KEF → SNN, ETOPS fuel +1,900 lb, block fuel 146,100 lb (was 144,200 lb), DEN METAR 1253Z attached at signature, and the dispatcher's reason. She can ask dispatch or the agents, decline with a reason, or co-sign. She co-signs at 13:31Z, and CV 118 is released, filed with its 14 sources.
“If the captain declines, the release goes back to the dispatcher with the reason, and nothing departs.”
CV 902 to Amsterdam lost N809CV at 12:10Z to a hydraulic leak and moved to N811CV. The change agent voided the signed v1 and drafted v2: trip fuel 111,600 → 112,700 lb, and with HF 2 deferred on N811CV, SATCOM voice becomes the second long-range system. The checker agrees on 32 of 32, v1 stays on file marked void, and both signatures are needed again.
The change agent never amends a signed release; it always asks both signers again.
The same dispatch release, seen by the five people who carry it — what their shift looked like, and what it looks like now.
Seven agents assemble, check and re-check every release and raise only what needs a person; the dispatcher and the captain sign.
Assembles each release from the flight plan, schedule, weights and fuel policy with the other agents' work, runs the 32 checks, and raises only what needs a person — one question with a proposed answer, its effect on the release and its sources.
Reads METARs, TAFs, SIGMETs, PIREPs, icing forecasts and NOTAMs for every airport and the route, tests each forecast against its minima across the times the airport is used, and keeps the NOTAMs that matter with the reason.
Reads each tail's open deferrals from the maintenance system and turns every (O) and (M) relief condition into rules the weather, ETOPS and fuel agents apply.
Computes each ETOPS alternate's weather window from earliest to latest possible landing (121.624), the diversion time, critical fuel in three scenarios with 5% wind and icing (121.646), time-limited systems (121.633) and rescue and fire fighting cover (121.106), and proposes the best alternate set.
Rebuilds every check from the raw sources on its own and compares with the release agent; any disagreement becomes a question to the dispatcher.
Watches signed releases for new forecasts, NOTAMs, MEL items, tail swaps, fuel requests and delays; when a release no longer holds, it voids it and drafts the re-release with a line-by-line difference.
Files every version with its sources and both signatures, attaches the latest weather at signature, builds evidence exports and drafts the monthly report.
Both sign only if they believe the flight is safe; maintenance control confirms MEL relief. The agents propose; a named person decides.
Ask about any flight, release, alternate or MEL item — or tell the agents what to do. Every answer points to its source.
What needs me before 14:00Z?
Three things. CV 118 has one question: MEL 30-11-01 rules out KEF while it forecasts icing; the agents propose SNN. CV 22 is ready to sign by 13:20Z. CV 902 needs a re-release after its tail swap.
Why does CV 118 need Shannon?
N812CV has the left outboard wing ice-protection channel deferred, MEL 30-11-01, which allows no ETOPS alternate with icing in its window. KEF forecasts moderate icing 19:00–23:00Z; CV 118 could need it from 19:24Z. SNN is clear 19:40–22:40Z.
Show the ETOPS fuel for CV 118
From ETP 2, the decompression case needs 41,300 lb; the plan has 39,400 lb there, so 1,900 lb of ETOPS fuel is added. The three cases follow 14 CFR 121.646.
How many releases were amended after signature last month?
305 of 9,840 in September, 3.1 per 100, against 4.4 per 100 in June to August. Tail swaps were the largest cause (118). Every amended release was signed again by both.
13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.
The thresholds every release is held to, the 32 checks and who may sign are settings, and every change is logged with who and why.
| Setting | Default | Choose from |
|---|---|---|
| Questions reach the dispatcher by | 90 minutes before departure | Any number of minutes before departure |
| Escalate an unsigned release to the duty manager at | 45 minutes before departure | Any number of minutes before departure |
| Discretionary fuel that needs a reason, above | 3,000 lb (FOM 7.3.6) | Any amount in pounds |
| Warn when the longest ETOPS diversion is within | 10 minutes of the authorization | Any number of minutes |
| Open a re-release after a delay of | 120 minutes | Any number of minutes |
| Release checks | 32 on, each run by both agents | Each check on or off, with its rule reference |
| Who signs | Aircraft dispatchers sign; the pilot in command co-signs | Locked — agents can read, ask and propose, never sign |
| Keep releases, flight plans and load manifests for | 24 months | 14 CFR 121.695 asks at least three months |
Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.
“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample airline data · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate · “typical” = published figures (ICAO NOTAM 2021 — pre-flight briefings of 30–200 pages). Regulations named as context: 14 CFR 121.663 (both sign only if they believe the flight is safe), 121.687 (release contents, ETOPS diversion time, latest weather), 121.695 (records kept at least three months), 121.624 and 121.646 (ETOPS alternates and critical fuel), 121.633 and 121.106. Corvane Airways, its people, flights and tail numbers are fictional — characters and sample data in the working solution.
Flight Dispatch Release is dispatch release software for Part 121 airlines: seven agents assemble each dispatch release from the flight plan, weather, NOTAMs and open MEL items, run the ETOPS checks and re-check the whole release independently. They raise only what needs a person, as one question with a proposed answer and its sources, in a conversation beside the release. The aircraft dispatcher signs and the captain co-signs on the EFB.
Under 14 CFR 121.687 a domestic or flag dispatch release names the aircraft, trip number, departure, destination and alternate airports, the type of operation and the minimum fuel, and for ETOPS the diversion time, with the latest weather attached. In the solution every one of those lines carries a numbered source, and the latest report for each airport is attached when the dispatcher and the captain sign.
No. Only certificated aircraft dispatchers sign and only the pilot in command co-signs, under the joint responsibility 14 CFR 121.663 sets out; signing is locked for the agents. The dispatcher signs with the 121.663 statement and a reason code, and the captain can co-sign or decline with a reason, which sends the release back and nothing departs.
For ETOPS dispatch, the ETOPS agent checks each alternate's forecast from its earliest to its latest possible landing (121.624), computes ETOPS critical fuel for the three 121.646 scenarios with 5% added wind and icing, and checks time-limited systems against the diversion plus 15 minutes (121.633) and rescue and fire fighting cover (121.106). On CV 118 it proposed Shannon in place of Keflavik and 1,900 lb of ETOPS fuel, and the dispatcher accepted.
The MEL agent reads the tail's open deferrals read-only and turns each relief condition into rules the weather, ETOPS and fuel agents apply — for example, no ETOPS alternate with forecast icing while a wing ice-protection channel is deferred. Maintenance control confirms the relief as read, and only maintenance control defers or clears an item.
The change agent watches signed releases for new forecasts, NOTAMs, MEL items, tail swaps, fuel requests and delays. When a release no longer holds, it voids the signed version, drafts the amended dispatch release — the re-release — with a line-by-line difference, has the checker re-run it and asks the dispatcher and the captain to sign again.
14 CFR 121.695 asks the carrier to keep the release, load manifest and flight plan at least three months. In the solution the records agent files every version with its sources and both signatures for 24 months, a setting, and the chief dispatcher can export any release's evidence in one file.
The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents — your OpSpecs, dispatch manual, MEL and a sample of past releases — and it goes live once every quality gate has passed. We will walk you through it on your own releases first.
Recovery plans in minutes, each one rehearsed and costed, signed before anything moves.
1-min demoNOTAM Briefing238 notices become the 6 that change the flight, each with its reason and original text.
1-min demoDiscretionary Fuel OptimizationEach flight loads the extra fuel its history needs: an estimated $2.1M a year at one hub.
1-min demoWe'll run Flight Dispatch Release on a sample of your own past releases, against your OpSpecs and dispatch manual.