If there is one thing that they can’t prepare you for in flight dispatcher school, it is mass evacuations and category 4 hurricanes like Hurricane Matthew; or can they?
The truth is that although flight dispatchers experienced some of the most stressful work days of their lives during Hurricane Matthew, weather systems and extreme schedule shifts like that are just part of the day-to-day lives of working flight dispatchers.
Hurricanes are actually more of a common issue for flight dispatchers than some might think. There are always severe weather systems like hurricanes and tropical storms off the coast of the Unites States, and those storms affect flight paths regularly. But the training received in flight dispatch schools prepares dispatchers for these challenges.
That being said, Hurricane Matthew was not a walk in the park for flight dispatchers around the world. Dispatch centers all over the world rerouted and canceled flights that were heading to and from the east coast of the United States in preparation for the storm. Altogether, there were over 4,500 flights cancelled because of the massive hurricane threat.
Amazingly, it did not take long for normal flights to resume and for travelers to continue on their way, and that is the power of flight dispatchers working together. What these men and women learn in flight dispatch school makes all the difference during a crisis like this. The effortless way in which travel resumed is a testament to that education.
Thankfully, the storm was not nearly as devastating as predicted. Storm like these, delays, and route changes are just another part of the day-to-day lives of flight dispatchers.