EU-OPS 1 - Extract 1 — Page 17, Lesson 17

I want to walk you through the procedure for establishing revised standard mass values for passengers and baggage, straight from Appendix 1 to OPS 1.620(g). This is the regulatory backbone for how an operator can move away from fixed, published standard masses and instead derive their own, based on actual weighing surveys. Let's start with the passengers, because that's where the whole method begins. The first tool is the weight sampling method. The idea is that the average mass of passengers and their hand baggage must be determined by weighing, and you do that by taking random samples. But "random" isn't a loose word here. The selection of those random samples must, by its nature and extent, be representative of the passenger volume. That means you have to consider the type of operation, the frequency of flights on various routes, whether you're sampling in-bound or out-bound flights, the applicable season, and the seat capacity of the aeroplane. So the sample has to reflect the real mix of people you carry, not just whoever happens to walk past. Next comes the sample size, and this is where the numbers get precise. The survey plan must cover the weighing of at least the greatest of two things. The first is a number of passengers calculated from a pilot sample, using normal statistical procedures, and based on a relative confidence range — that's the accuracy — of 1% for all adult average masses, and 2% for separate male and female average masses. So if you're computing one combined adult average, you need tighter accuracy at 1%; if you're splitting it into male and female averages, you can accept 2%. The second requirement depends on the aeroplane's seating capacity. For an aeroplane with a passenger seating capacity of 40 or more, you need a total of 2,000 passengers weighed. For an aeroplane with a seating capacity of less than 40, you need a total number equal to 50 multiplied by the passenger seating capacity. So a 30-seat aircraft would need 1,500 passengers. And you take the greatest of those two criteria — the statistical calculation or the fleet-size minimum — whichever demands more weighing. Now, what counts as a passenger mass? This is important. Passenger masses must include the mass of the passengers' belongings which are carried when entering the aeroplane. So the weight you record is the person plus everything they're carrying on board. And there's a specific rule for infants: when you take random samples, infants shall be weighed together with the accompanying adult. You don't weigh the infant separately — you weigh them as one unit with the adult carrying them. This ties into OPS 1.620(c), (d), and (e), which you'd look at for the broader standard mass rules. Then we have the weighing location. The location for weighing passengers shall be selected as close as possible to the aeroplane, at a point where a change in the passenger mass by disposing of, or by acquiring more, personal belongings is unlikely to occur before the passengers board. In plain terms, you want to weigh them right at the gate, just before boarding, so the weight you recorded is still accurate when they step onto the aircraft. If they weigh them in the terminal and then buy a heavy duty-free bag on the way to the plane, your data is already wrong. Finally, the weighing machine itself. The machine used for passenger weighing shall have a capacity of at least 150 kilograms. That's the minimum scale capacity you're allowed to use for this survey. That's the passenger side of the procedure. The excerpt cuts off right at the weighing machine specification, so the baggage section would follow next. But before we go there, let me make sure the core logic is clear: you sample randomly and representatively, you meet a statistically derived sample size or a fleet-based minimum, whichever is greater, you weigh passengers with their carried belongings and infants with their adult, you do it close to the aircraft to preserve accuracy, and you use a scale capable of at least 150 kilograms. That's the foundation of establishing your own revised standard masses under EU-OPS 1.