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In-flight fuel management

CASA has updated advice following aviation community feedback to clarify requirements for inflight fuel checking and recording.

Please read these extracts from CAAP 234-1(2.1) and CAAP 215-1(3.1) for more information.

We recommend you read CAAP 215 even if you are not an AOC holder.

Under the new rules, introduced 8 November 2018, you must conduct in-flight fuel management, including in-flight fuel quantity checks at regular intervals.

When conducting these checks, you may discover that you would be landing at your original planned destination without sufficient fuel, that is, your fixed fuel reserve remaining.

If this occurs, make an alternate plan to land safely with sufficient fuel at a different location than you had originally planned. Your new safe landing location will depend on your aircraft capabilities and the conditions.

However, if a safe landing location is not an option and you are landing with less than your fixed fuel reserve, then you must declare Mayday Fuel.

Preserving fixed fuel reserve is the foundation for in-flight fuel decision making which in-turn leads to safer operations.

That doesn't mean that in all instances preserving your fixed fuel reserve is the highest priority. There may be occasions where it is more important to exercise your judgement to determine the safest outcome, which may include landing with less than fixed fuel reserve remaining.

Mayday Fuel declaration and safety

The Mayday Fuel declaration aims to increase safety. It alerts other airspace users to a potential fuel problem facing an aircraft in their vicinity and ensures priority is given to that aircraft to reduce the chances of an accident.

The declaration is an internationally recognised standard aligning Australia with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization that are designed to assist in the management of aviation safety risks.

Mayday Fuel is not aimed at setting conditions to prosecute pilots or operators and a declaration does not automatically mean that emergency services will be mobilised.

Explaining the rules

We have released guidance material and updated existing documents to help explain how the changes work in practice.

For private pilots operating under visual flight rules (VFR) only visit the fuel requirements and fuel planning pages in the Visual Flight Rules Guide (VFRG).

For more complex operations, CAAP 234-1(2) covers aircraft fuel requirements and sample calculations

For operators, CASA has updated the following documents to assist in preparing or amending your operations manual:

View the full rules Civil Aviation (Fuel Requirements) Instrument 2018.