Narrative:

Due to large amount of releases approximately (12) in 25 minutes; including (2) ETOPS flights; I feel that I am not in control of the flights I am releasing or the flights I am monitoring in flight. I also feel that safety is compromised because of this massive amount of work expected during and after this time. I caught a flight-critical MEL that restricted flight to M.65; there was no delay as I caught it in time; but I feel that I was lucky to have caught this MEL. The workload is extremely high for most of this shift. For a period of 25 minutes there are 12 releases to be completed! This includes (2) ETOPS flights! At one point there are 5 flights to be released. This is an extreme workload on a normal operations day in my opinion. The entire shift is very busy on a normal day; and the time I am talking about is just an example of the shift. Also - planning flights with responsibility to fuel costs; [attention to] turbulence is almost zero with this high of a work load.each and every flight is extremely important; and I feel that some flights are considered 'low work load' flights. While this may be the case on most days; this is not always the case. ETOPS flights are very labor intensive compared to other flights; and it seems that these flights are growing in number with no regard to the amount of work caused. I don't like to complain; and this report is very difficult for me to write and send. The only reason I am doing so now is the simple fact that I feel like it is just a matter of time until a critical issue will be missed. I feel that the management does a good job at addressing these issues; and I think that bringing this to the attention of management will bring positive results.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air Carrier Dispatcher laments the high work load during his shift; dispatching 12 flights in 25 minutes; two of which are ETOPS flights.

Narrative: Due to large amount of releases approximately (12) in 25 minutes; including (2) ETOPS flights; I feel that I am not in control of the flights I am releasing or the flights I am monitoring in flight. I also feel that safety is compromised because of this massive amount of work expected during and AFTER this time. I caught a flight-critical MEL that restricted flight to M.65; there was no delay as I caught it in time; but I feel that I was lucky to have caught this MEL. The workload is extremely high for most of this shift. For a period of 25 minutes there are 12 releases to be completed! This includes (2) ETOPS flights! At one point there are 5 flights to be released. This is an extreme workload on a normal operations day in my opinion. The entire shift is very busy on a normal day; and the time I am talking about is just an example of the shift. Also - planning flights with responsibility to fuel costs; [attention to] turbulence is almost zero with this high of a work load.Each and every flight is extremely important; and I feel that some flights are considered 'low work load' flights. While this may be the case on most days; this is not always the case. ETOPS flights are very labor intensive compared to other flights; and it seems that these flights are growing in number with no regard to the amount of work caused. I don't like to complain; and this report is very difficult for me to write and send. The only reason I am doing so now is the simple fact that I feel like it is just a matter of time until a critical issue will be missed. I feel that the management does a good job at addressing these issues; and I think that bringing this to the attention of management will bring positive results.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.