# Commercial Pre-Flight Fuel Planning

> Detailed breakdown of fuel planning requirements for commercial air transport.

- **Subject:** 033 — Flight Planning Monitoring
- **Section:** 033-03 — Fuel Planning – CAT.OP.MPA.106 and CAT.OP.MPA.150 plus AMC1, 2 and 3
- **Topic code:** 033-03-02
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-04-01
- **Author:** Pablo Asensio Martínez
- **HTML version:** https://pilotsyllabus.com/en/flight-planning-monitoring/fuel-planning-catopmpa106-and-catopmpa150-plus-amc1-2-and-3/pre-flight-fuel-planning-for-commercial-flights/

---

## Alternate Selection Requirements

*   **Standard**: At least **one** destination alternate must be selected.
*   **Two Alternates**: Required if:
    *   Weather at destination is marginal ($< 2,000$ ft ceiling or $< 3$ miles visibility) for 1 hr before/after ETA.
    *   No meteorological information is available for destination.

## Special Fuel Procedures

### Isolated Aerodrome Procedure
If no suitable alternate exists (e.g., island destination):
*   Carry fuel to fly to destination.
*   Additional fuel to fly for **2 hours** at normal cruise consumption (final reserve included).

### Predetermined Point (PDP) Procedure
Used when the destination alternate is not available or reliable. The flight plan includes a PDP where a decision is made to either:
1.  Continue to destination and land with mandatory reserves.
2.  Divert to an en-route alternate.

### Reduced Contingency Fuel (RCF)
Allows carrying less than 5% contingency fuel by using a **Decision Point** en-route.
*   At the Decision Point, the pilot checks fuel.
*   If fuel $\ge$ Required Fuel to Destination + Reserves, continue.
*   If fuel $<$ Required, divert to a closer alternate (commercial stop).
*   Typically reduces contingency to **3%** or **5 minutes** (whichever is greater).

## Factors Calculating Fuel
Fuel planning must take into account:
*   Expected taxi time.
*   Expected departure/arrival routes (SIDs/STARs).
*   Forecast meteorological conditions (wind/temp).
*   Mass of the aeroplane.
*   Performance data (fuel flow charts).

---

Free study notes from pilotsyllabus.com. Not a substitute for training at an approved ATO.