Thomas Paul's Blog

Photo by  Tom Barrett  on  Unsplash SPECI  stands for  special aerodrome meteorological report . These reports follow the same format as  METARs  but are issued when weather conditions significantly change between routine reports. While specific local criteria may be applied at individual aerodromes, the following general criteria are used in Canada: ceilings sky conditions visibility tornado, funnel cloud, waterspout thunderstorm precipitation obstruction of vision wind temperature Ceilings The ceiling is defined as the lowest broken or overcast cloud layer.  Few  or  scattered  cloud layers are not considered ceilings and may not necessitate a SPECI. A SPECI is required if the ceiling lowers or forms at values less than the following: 1,500′ 1,000′ 500′ *400′ 300′ *200′ *100′ the lowest published minimum altitude The altitudes marked with an * require a SPECI only if the aerodrome is equipped with a precision approach. Examples: I...

  Navigating Winter IROPs in Canada It’s that time of year when  IROPs  wreak havoc on travel plans in Canada. IROP stands for  irregular operations , a term used when an airline has to switch to plan B—or much further down the alphabet. Photo by  Nice M Nshuti  on  Unsplash Winter presents many challenges for airlines in Canada, and while they work diligently to mitigate these issues, some disruptions are unavoidable. Airlines only make money when they can transport passengers to their destinations safely. To better manage weather-related IROPs, airlines use strategies aimed at minimizing their impact. One such strategy is the scheduling of larger "block" times during the winter. Block time refers to the duration between when an aircraft’s main cabin door closes at the departure airport and when it reopens at the destination. Longer block times account for delays due to necessary processes like de-icing, especially on early-morning flights when frost ...