Narrative:

When I started my shift I had several maintenance issues going on. One flight was from the previous day that had broken down. I was trying to get that flight out. The captain was going illegal. We had lost all of our payload and I had to update the strip with ATC. I noticed I had 17 flights airborne and [in one hour]. I had 10 releases to write. The stress level went way up because now stations and crews were calling for fuel slips and releases. Once the maintenance issue was resolved I waited for some flights to get on the ground. The phone kept ringing and then another maintenance issue developed. They only way to control the situation was to not release any more flights until things settled down on my desk. The workload was just too much to handle.our workload continues to be an issue. Even on a good weather day other factors come into play. We cannot sit here and just push out releases. When interruptions happen; mistakes are made. I made a conscience decision to not release any more flights. Of course that just causes more phone calls and the cycle does not get any better. Open additional desks. We have hired over 45 dispatchers and have not taken any pressure off the dispatchers by opening up additional desks and distributing the workload more evenly. Everyday it's a constant heavy stream. At times I have not been able to eat dinner or step away for a bathroom break. We have an open desk in each quad of desks; open these desks up.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier Dispatcher reported they had to withhold releases from aircraft because of their workload.

Narrative: When I started my shift I had several maintenance issues going on. One flight was from the previous day that had broken down. I was trying to get that flight out. The Captain was going illegal. We had lost all of our payload and I had to update the strip with ATC. I noticed I had 17 flights airborne and [in one hour]. I had 10 releases to write. The stress level went way up because now stations and crews were calling for fuel slips and releases. Once the maintenance issue was resolved I waited for some flights to get on the ground. The phone kept ringing and then another maintenance issue developed. They only way to control the situation was to not release any more flights until things settled down on my desk. The workload was just too much to handle.Our workload continues to be an issue. Even on a good weather day other factors come into play. We cannot sit here and just push out releases. When interruptions happen; mistakes are made. I made a conscience decision to not release any more flights. Of course that just causes more phone calls and the cycle does not get any better. Open additional desks. We have hired over 45 Dispatchers and have not taken any pressure off the Dispatchers by opening up additional desks and distributing the workload more evenly. Everyday it's a constant heavy stream. At times I have not been able to eat dinner or step away for a bathroom break. We have an open desk in each quad of desks; open these desks up.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.