Meaning of ETOPS and How it Works

At Sheffield School of Aeronautics, we offer a one day ETOPS course immediately following the completion of the Advanced International Flight Planning Course. This course is designed for those who may want to work for an airline that operates over isolated routes that don’t have common emergency landing options.

ETOPS means Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards. It is a certification that permits twin engine aircrafts to fly routes which may, at the time, be 60 minutes flying time from the nearest airport that is suitable for an emergency landing. The other meaning of ETOPS is also the more informally known: Engines Turn or Passengers Swim.

What is ETOPS?

Early combustion engines were highly unreliable, and it was not uncommon for a 4-engine piston aircraft to show up at the airport with only 3 of its engines working. As a result, the twin engine aircrafts were required to fly beeline paths to remain in range of an adequate airport. Aircrafts that had more than two engines were not restricted by this rule of flight paths. Because of this, many transatlantic flights were flown by Boeing airliners since they can fly more direct routes. Flight plans had to accommodate these restrictions and flight dispatcher training centered around this idea.  

As time went on, aviation engineers slowly realized that jet engines are much more reliable than the piston counterpart. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began to approve flights with twin engines 120 minutes away from an accommodating airport. This new policy was now twice as long as the previous time requirement. It made twin engine aircrafts more popular since their fuel efficiency is much better than a 4-engine aircraft. It also changed the way dispatcher schools trained their students as flight plans now had the option for greater flexibility.

ETOPS Certification

There is a set of standards that ETOPS certification requires both the aircraft and airline to comply with. For the aircraft, the manufacturer must demonstrate that flying with one engine is relatively manageable by the flight crew, safe for the airframe, and an extremely rare occurrence. The airline then must showcase that the flight crew’s training and maintenance procedures are up to high standards. For this reason, pilots, engineers, and aircraft dispatchers must have the proper certification.

Many flight operators are adopting the ETOPS approach as opposed to non-ETOPS routes since they realized that having the certification significantly improves reliability, performance, and aircraft dispatch rates. The price of the certification is offset later on by reduced maintenance costs, as well as the costs that are associated with diversions, delays, and turn backs.

The importance and meaning of ETOPS came to light when the first ETOPS certification was given to Trans World Airlines (TWA) in 1985. In this same year the FAA began allowing twin engine aircrafts an extension up to 120 minutes from nearest appropriate airport. In 1988, it was again extended to a 180-minute maximum. Today, this has increased to a 240-minute ETOPS rule, but it is only approved in certain circumstances. All aircrafts must be ETOPS certified and approved by the FAA first.

At Sheffield School of Aeronautics, we offered our first ETOPS class on July 11, 1992. This date makes us one of the first aircraft dispatcher schools, aside from the major airlines, to offer this form of advanced aviation training. If you are looking to become ETOPS certified, we offer courses throughout the year. Look for more information on course schedules and pricing today!

 

  • Contact Us

    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

  • Testimonials

    “I entered my profession, with more knowledge and information than dispatchers who have been practicing their craft for more than ten years. Not only has Sheffield provided a top notch education, but they have also instilled in me the confidence to succeed.” A.Z. Sidebar AZ
    “Sheffield School of Aeronautics is a highly recognized and respected organization throughout the airline industry. They only produce the highest quality of graduate…” P.W. Sidebar PW
    “Eric Morris is one of the most if not the most knowledgeable and experienced authorities on Aircraft Dispatching in the United States. He strives constantly to make the industry better.” DH sidebar DH
    “If you want to be the best, first you need to be trained by the best!” P. Hill P.Hill – DHL
    “I am a graduate of the Sheffield’s Dispatcher Program. I have been a Captain-Part 121 Airline, Certified Flight/Grnd Instructor, and FAA Designated Check Airman and Sim Instructor (Part 121). From my experience I would rate Sheffield School as outstanding in their field.” PT PT
    “These men represented the highest caliber of professionalism and integrity. The education I received from these gentleman has afforded me to be gainfully employed while having the opportunity to use the education received, all over this country, and more than a few others.” WG sidebar wg
    “After receiving my certificate, I joined a class of 4 experienced dispatchers for Part 121 initial training. Without experience, my preparation at Sheffield enabled me to become active at the same time after the initial training.” PR PR
    “Sheffield School of Aeronautics is known worldwide for its quality training and has been recommended to me by our national airline Swiss International Airlines. Whenever I mention the name ‘Sheffield’ it rings a bell in people’s ears.” IW IW
    “My experience at Sheffield and my exposure to other aircraft dispatchers that did not go to Sheffield has resulted in an awareness of the superior depth and quality of the training provided by the Sheffield instructors.” CD Sidebar CD
    “Their reputation of excellence amongst the industry is second to none. Sheffield School of Aeronautics should be seen as the standard of how it can be done and how it should be done. I was hired at a major airline with no dispatch experience.” A.Z. Sidebar AZ
    “I am so glad they are like this because it made me a better dispatcher and I really appreciate their high standards. I would highly recommend Sheffield to anyone who is willing to study hard and is serious about obtaining a Dispatcher Certificate.” MC MC
    “This was an amazing class! Always interesting! It was like drinking from a fire hose, but I have never enjoyed a course more than this one. Thank you for a great 5 weeks & EWINS!” R.S. R.S. Testimonial – 5-weeks & EWINS
    “I wanted to tell you I got the job offer from Expressjet, and start next month! I think a couple others from class were hired as well. It just shows the Sheffield reputation when I see graduates from other schools complaining that they can’t get an interview – I wasn’t even back home to Minneapolis […] Dan Gustafson
    “While touring my company’s dispatch department before I had my license our OCC manager pointed out that 7 of the 10 dispatchers on shift had come from Sheffield. The overall consensus was that Sheffield grads were able to hit the ground running as they were better prepared.” K.O. Sidebar K.O.
    “As a graduate of Sheffield School of Aeronautics I am a firm believer that I received the most thorough and well thought out aircraft dispatcher training available. I owe my position in the industry to Sheffield School of Aeronautics.” BF Sidebar BF
  • See More Testimonials »

  • Online Catalog

    Sheffield Flight Dispatch Training Catalog

  • View Our Online Catalog »

  • Connect