AOC Applications — Airline Operational Communications
Datalink has two application classes (article 1): ATC (talking to the controller, articles 3–6) and AOC (talking to the company). This article covers AOC (Airline Operational Control) — the datalink between the aircraft and the airline operations centre: flight logs, weather/NOTAM/loadsheet requests, delay and diversion reports.
Like SATCOM (ATA-23-05), AOC is heavily operator-customised, and the FCOM gives no specific menu. So this article teaches the invariants: what AOC is, its typical functions, and a safety-relevant example — how to handle an AOC flight-plan modification.
1. What AOC is — company datalink, operator-customised
The FCOM defines it and declines to detail it. Per FCOM DSC-46-10-20-10:
The AOC applications are datalink applications. The AOC applications enable an exchange of specific messages between the flight crew and the Airline Operational Control (AOC). The AOC applications are customized by each operator and depend on operator's choices and the datalink service provider. Note: Details about AOC applications cannot be provided due to the wide range of customization by the operator.
[!note]- AOC is to 46 what SATCOM is to 23: operator-customised As the SATCOM menu is customised by the ORT (ATA-23-05), AOC applications are operator-customised and vary between airlines — the specific pages follow your company configuration, and this material teaches only the invariant architecture and logic. AOC and ATC applications share the ATSU media and routing (article 1); only the interlocutor changes, from controller to company.
2. Typical functions — preflight / en-route / postflight
The FCOM gives an example function set (actual set follows the company). Per FCOM DSC-46-10-20-10:
The AOC application can offer the following functions: EXAMPLE — Preflight Functions: Flight log, Departure Delay Message, Takeoff Delay Message, Weather Request, NOTAM Request, Loadsheet Request [...]; En-Route Functions: Flight log, Diversion Message, En-route Delay, Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) Message, Weather Request, NOTAM Request [...]; Postflight Functions: Flight log, Flight summary, Gate delay [...].
In one line, AOC covers company communication across a whole flight — preflight gathers material (weather/NOTAM/loadsheet), en-route reports status (delay/diversion/ETA), postflight files summaries (summary/log).
3. Flight-plan modification — load the secondary, activate only with a clearance
The most safety-relevant AOC item — handling a flight-plan modification from the company. Per FCOM DSC-46-10-20-10:
EXAMPLE Flight Plan Modification [...]: The AOC sends a flight plan modification message to the flight crew. The flight crew loads the fight plan modification in the FMGES, into the secondary F-PLN. The crew obtains ATC clearance before activating the modified flight plan.
[!warning]- An AOC-uplinked route cannot be activated directly The company (AOC) sends a re-route (e.g. a DARP fuel-saving track around weather). Do not turn it straight into the active flight plan. The correct flow: (1) load it into the secondary F-PLN (which does not affect the current flight) → (2) obtain an ATC clearance first (a company re-route is not a controller approval) → (3) activate only after ATC clears it. Why? Because the company handles operations, the controller handles separation — a company optimisation must be approved by ATC before it is flown, or it is an unauthorised deviation from clearance. This ties AOC (46), the FMS secondary flight plan (ATA-22), and CPDLC clearance (article 3) together — the datalink-era split of "operational optimisation vs ATC clearance".
Self-test
[!note]- Q1. What are AOC applications, why does the FCOM give no specific menu, and what do they share with ATC applications? Company datalink applications; they are heavily operator-customised. They share the ATSU media and routing with ATC applications.
[!note]- Q2. What are AOC's typical preflight/en-route/postflight functions? Preflight: flight log, delay messages, weather/NOTAM/loadsheet requests. En-route: flight log, diversion, en-route delay, ETA, weather/NOTAM. Postflight: flight log, flight summary, gate delay.
[!note]- Q3. An AOC flight-plan modification arrives — where do you load it, what must you do before activating, and why can a company re-route not be flown directly? Load it into the secondary F-PLN; obtain an ATC clearance before activating. The company handles operations, the controller handles separation — a company route must be ATC-approved.
Key takeaways
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| AOC | Company datalink; operator-customised; shares ATSU media |
| Functions | Preflight (material) / en-route (status) / postflight (summaries) |
| Flight-plan mod | AOC re-route → secondary F-PLN → obtain ATC clearance → then activate |
References
- FCOM DSC-46-10-20-10 — AOC definition, operator customisation (not detailed), preflight/en-route/postflight functions, flight-plan-modification example (secondary F-PLN + ATC clearance before activation).
Independent study material, not an Airbus publication and not endorsed by the manufacturer. Always defer to the current operator FCOM, FCTM, and QRH for operational use; AOC applications follow the company configuration.