Crew control
The department that manages crew on the day of operation — calling out standbys, reassigning trips and keeping every flight legally crewed.
Definition
Crew control (crewing, crew scheduling or crew tracking, depending on the airline) is the operations desk that keeps every flight legally crewed once the roster has been published. They call out standby crew for sickness and delays, rebuild trips after disruption, check every change against flight time limitation rules and record the actual hours each crew member flies. They sit within the airline's operations control centre and work around the clock.
What it means for you
Crewing is the number you must answer on standby, the people who can legally move your report time within your airline's notice rules, and the desk that decides whether a delayed trip is rebuilt or you are taken off it. Keeping your contact details current and knowing your own FDP limits are how you argue with them from a position of strength when a reassignment looks illegal.
In practice
At 04:50 on a home standby a Ryanair crew member gets the call from crewing to report for a 07:00 Stansted departure after a colleague has called in sick; the clock on their FDP starts at report, not at the phone call.
Related terms
4 terms- StandbyRoster & schedulingA rostered period in which you are not assigned a flight but must be available to be called for one, at the airport or at home.
- RosterRoster & schedulingYour published block of duties for the month: flights, standbys, training, days off and leave, built against legal duty limits.
- Flight duty periodRoster & schedulingThe regulated window from report for a flying duty to engines off after the last sector; the core limit protecting crew from fatigue.
- Roster swapRoster & schedulingExchanging a rostered duty with a colleague, subject to legality checks and crewing approval; how crew shape a company-built roster.