46.—(1) An AOC holder must establish a fuel policy for every flight of a small aeroplane for the purposes of flight planning and en‑route re‑planning, and to ensure that the aeroplane carries an amount of fuel that is sufficient for the aeroplane to complete a planned flight under these Regulations safely (this includes allowances for deviations from any planned operations).(2) A fuel policy established under paragraph (1) must be based on the following planning requirements:| (a) | either of the following sets of data:| (i) | current aeroplane-specific data derived from a fuel consumption monitoring system, if such data is available; | | (ii) | fuel consumption data provided by the aeroplane manufacturer, if current aeroplane‑specific data is not available; |
| | (b) | the operating conditions under which a planned flight is to be conducted, including but not limited to —| (i) | the anticipated aeroplane mass; | | (ii) | the route-specific NOTAM; | | (iii) | the current meteorological reports or a combination of current reports and forecasts; | | (iv) | the procedures, restrictions and any anticipated delays as informed by the appropriate air traffic services units; and | | (v) | the effects of deferred maintenance items or configuration deviations, or both. |
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(3) Subject to paragraphs (4), (5), (6) and (8), an AOC holder must ensure that the pre‑flight calculation of usable fuel for a flight of a small aeroplane includes all of the following:| (a) | start-up and taxi fuel, which is an amount of fuel not less than the amount expected to be consumed before take‑off, taking into account local conditions at the departure aerodrome and fuel consumption of the auxiliary power unit; | | (b) | trip fuel, which is the amount of fuel required to enable the aeroplane to take off, climb, cruise, descend, approach and land at the destination aerodrome, taking into account the operating conditions listed in paragraph (2)(b); | | (c) | contingency fuel, which is an amount of fuel sufficient to compensate for unforeseen factors and is equivalent to —| (i) | 5% of the planned trip fuel calculated in accordance with sub‑paragraph (b); or | | (ii) | 5% of the fuel required from the point of re‑planning, |
| but not less than an amount of fuel required for the aeroplane to fly for 5 minutes at holding speed at 450 m (1,500 ft) above the destination aerodrome in standard conditions; |
| | (d) | destination alternate fuel, which is —| (i) | for a flight requiring the nomination of a single destination alternate aerodrome under these Regulations, the amount of fuel required for the aeroplane to —| (A) | perform a missed approach at the destination aerodrome; | | (B) | climb to the expected cruise altitude; | | (C) | fly the expected routing; | | (D) | descend to the point where the expected approach is initiated; and | | (E) | conduct the approach and landing at the destination alternate aerodrome; |
| | (ii) | for a flight requiring the nomination of 2 destination alternate aerodromes under these Regulations, the amount of fuel required for the aeroplane to proceed to the destination alternate aerodrome that requires the greater amount of fuel, using the calculation in sub‑paragraph (i); |
| | (e) | destination alternate contingency fuel, which is 5% of the amount of fuel required under sub‑paragraph (d)(i) or (ii), as applicable; | | (f) | final reserve fuel, which is calculated using the estimated mass of the aeroplane on arrival at the destination alternate aerodrome (or the estimated mass of the aeroplane on arrival at the destination aerodrome for a flight where no destination alternate aerodrome is required) and —| (i) | in the case of a reciprocating engine aeroplane, is an amount of fuel sufficient for the aeroplane to fly for 45 minutes at an appropriate speed and altitude conditions; or | | (ii) | in the case of a turbine engine aeroplane, is an amount of fuel sufficient for the aeroplane to fly for 30 minutes at holding speed at 450 m (1,500 ft) above aerodrome elevation in standard conditions; |
| | (g) | additional fuel, which is a supplementary amount of fuel required for the aeroplane —| (i) | in the event of engine failure or loss of pressurisation, whichever requires the greater amount of fuel, on the assumption that such a failure occurs at the most critical point of the route —| (A) | to descend as necessary and proceed to an alternate aerodrome; | | (B) | to fly for 15 minutes at holding speed at 450 m (1,500 ft) above aerodrome elevation in standard conditions; and | | (C) | to make an approach and landing at the alternate aerodrome; |
| | (ii) | to comply with any EDTO critical fuel scenario when engaging in EDTO under an approval granted under the Air Navigation (98 — Special Operations) Regulations 2018 for that purpose; and | | (iii) | to meet any other situation that may require additional fuel; |
| | (h) | discretionary fuel, which is an extra amount of fuel carried on the aeroplane at the pilot‑in‑command’s discretion. |
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| (4) Additional fuel is not required for the pre‑flight calculation under paragraph (3) if the minimum amount of fuel from the total of paragraph (3)(b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) is sufficient to address all the situations that may require additional fuel. |
(5) When a small aeroplane is operated under the conditions specified in regulation 42(2)(a), the AOC holder may replace the fuel components in paragraph (3)(d), (e) and (f) with a minimum fuel reserve which comprises the higher of —| (a) | the amount of fuel required for the aeroplane to fly from decision height at the destination aerodrome to landing at the destination alternate aerodrome, including an additional 5% of such amount of fuel for contingency situations; | | (b) | the amount of fuel required for the aeroplane to hold for 60 minutes, in standard conditions, at 450 m (1,500 ft) above destination aerodrome elevation. |
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(6) Where the aerodrome of intended landing for a flight of any small aeroplane is an isolated aerodrome, the AOC holder may replace the fuel components in paragraph (3)(d), (e) and (f) with an island hold reserve, which is —| (a) | for a reciprocating engine aeroplane, the lesser of the amount of fuel required by the aeroplane —| (i) | to hold at cruise level for 45 minutes and an additional 15% of the flight time planned to be spent at cruising level, which includes the amount for the final reserve fuel; or | | (ii) | to hold for 2 hours; and |
| | (b) | for a turbine engine aeroplane, an amount of fuel sufficient to enable the aeroplane to hold for 120 minutes at normal cruise consumption above destination aerodrome elevation, which includes the amount for the final reserve fuel. |
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(7) An AOC holder must ensure that the pilot‑in‑command of any small aeroplane —| (a) | does not commence flight unless the usable fuel on board meets the applicable requirements in —| (i) | paragraph (3)(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) and (g); | | (ii) | paragraphs (3)(a), (b), (c) and (g) and (6); or | | (iii) | paragraphs (3)(a), (b), (c) and (g) and (5); and |
| | (b) | does not continue the flight beyond the point of in‑flight re‑planning, which is planned in accordance with regulation 48, unless the usable fuel on board meets the applicable requirements in —| (i) | paragraph (3)(b), (c), (d), (e), (f) and (g); | | (ii) | paragraphs (3)(b), (c) and (g) and (5); or | | (iii) | paragraphs (3)(b), (c) and (g) and (6). |
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| (8) The Director-General of Civil Aviation may approve variations to the pre‑flight fuel calculations specified in paragraph (3) for taxi fuel, trip fuel, contingency fuel, destination alternate fuel and additional fuel if the results of a specific risk assessment conducted by an AOC holder show that an equivalent level of safety is maintained for such a flight. |
(9) The specific risk assessment mentioned in paragraph (8) must include —| (a) | the fuel calculations for the flight; | | (b) | the capability of the AOC holder to include —| (i) | a data-driven method of fuel calculations that includes a fuel consumption monitoring programme; and | | (ii) | the advanced use of alternate aerodromes; and |
| | (c) | the specific mitigation measures taken by the AOC holder. |
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| (10) An AOC holder must ensure that, when fuel is used for any purpose other than the originally intended purpose (as decided during pre‑flight planning) after the commencement of a flight of a small aeroplane, a re-analysis of the fuel required is performed and, if necessary, adjustment of the planned operation is made. |
| (11) Regulation 37 of the Air Navigation (91 — General Operating Rules) Regulations 2018 does not apply to a flight of any small aeroplane under these Regulations. |
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