Narrative:

The original destination airport was closed due to the snow storm on the east coast; so we released this flight to a nearby airport; with forty five minutes hold; and two alternates hoping to change the destination to original destination if the airport opened later (which was expected). This flight ended up in at a third destination. The original destination teleconference was delayed one hour; but they opened the runway and had one taxiway route open with a de-ice pad open. My flight asked to go to original destination based on that information and ATC granted that request. I changed their destination; figured the burn; checked the weather; and changed their alternates (as pilot requested). The crew sent me an ACARS stating they were on approach. I turned over to the day shift dispatcher and left. After I left several things happened that caused our air carrier to be in direct violation of multiple far's. After pulling the ACARS traffic and talking to the duty officer; I found out that this flight was pulled off the approach to original destination because the station manager called the local tower and told them not to let our aircraft land because we didn't have gate space. (This was a problem due to taxiway availability.) this flight was in sterile cockpit far 121.542; and the station manager did not have operational control far 121.533. The station manager violated both far's. Plus the station manager 'unknowingly' tried to violate multiple far's by not holding operational control; and sending a flight into an 'unsafe' operation. The station manager tried to violate far 121.599 (familiarity with weather conditions); far 121.601 (aircraft dispatcher information to pilots); far 121.607 (communication; navigation; facilities); 121.619 (alternate airport for destination); 121.627 (continuing flight in unsafe conditions); the station manager didn't check for far 121.629 (operating in icing conditions - there was a snowstorm on the east coast the day before); 121.631 (original dispatch flight rules; amendments; etc); 121.639 (fuel supply - domestic). The station manager placed our flight in a dangerous situation. Had the FAA redundant system of checks between captain/dispatcher not been in place this flight could have crashed? The captain did his job and called dispatch to get the required information; although he was puzzled by not being allowed to land. Maybe someone should look into our air carrier's culture of undermining dispatcher authority by allowing managers to be called operation managers who operationally cancel flights (violation of far 121.533). They have allowed maintenance controllers to divert flights. And; maybe someone should try to correct the company philosophy which believes that station managers run the airline operationally. I believe the far's state otherwise; and the regulation specifically gives this power to dispatch. Also; maybe someone could inform all other operational departments of certain specific functions and responsibilities that dispatch performs; and can only perform.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Dispatcher reported that a Company aircraft was told on short final by ATC that the flight could not land based on communication with the company Station Manager advising of no room to park the aircraft. The Dispatcher asserts violations of FAR.

Narrative: The original destination airport was closed due to the snow storm on the East Coast; so we released this flight to a nearby airport; with forty five minutes hold; and two alternates hoping to change the destination to original destination if the airport opened later (which was expected). This flight ended up in at a third destination. The original destination teleconference was delayed one hour; but they opened the runway and had one taxiway route open with a de-ice pad open. My flight asked to go to original destination based on that information and ATC granted that request. I changed their destination; figured the burn; checked the weather; and changed their alternates (as pilot requested). The crew sent me an ACARS stating they were on approach. I turned over to the day shift Dispatcher and left. After I left several things happened that caused our Air Carrier to be in direct violation of multiple FAR's. After pulling the ACARS traffic and talking to the Duty Officer; I found out that this flight was pulled off the approach to original destination because the Station Manager called the Local Tower and told them not to let our aircraft land because we didn't have gate space. (This was a problem due to taxiway availability.) This flight was in sterile cockpit FAR 121.542; and the Station Manager did not have operational control FAR 121.533. The Station Manager violated both FAR's. Plus the Station Manager 'unknowingly' tried to violate multiple FAR's by not holding operational control; and sending a flight into an 'UNSAFE' operation. The Station Manager tried to violate FAR 121.599 (familiarity with weather conditions); FAR 121.601 (aircraft Dispatcher information to pilots); FAR 121.607 (communication; navigation; facilities); 121.619 (alternate airport for destination); 121.627 (continuing flight in unsafe conditions); the Station Manager didn't check for FAR 121.629 (operating in icing conditions - there was a snowstorm on the East Coast the day before); 121.631 (original dispatch flight rules; amendments; etc); 121.639 (fuel supply - domestic). The Station Manager placed our flight in a dangerous situation. Had the FAA redundant system of checks between Captain/Dispatcher not been in place this flight could have crashed? The Captain did his job and called Dispatch to get the required information; although he was puzzled by not being allowed to land. Maybe someone should look into our Air Carrier's culture of undermining Dispatcher authority by allowing managers to be called operation managers who operationally cancel flights (violation of FAR 121.533). They have allowed maintenance controllers to divert flights. And; maybe someone should try to correct the Company philosophy which believes that Station Managers run the airline operationally. I believe the FAR's state otherwise; and the regulation specifically gives this power to Dispatch. Also; maybe someone could inform all other operational departments of certain specific functions and responsibilities that Dispatch performs; and can only perform.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.