Narrative:

My midnight shift sector is extremely over-scheduled; especially in light of thunderstorm season. It now consists of 5 sectors; 2 southeast; 2 southwest and a transcon sector. Tonight's 'passdowns' [flights in progress at the time of the dispatchers' shift change] consisted of multiple diversions; 3 becoming flights of note; maintenance reposition flights; a 'handle manually' MEL; a ground stop for a hub station and questionable routes to that station once the stop lifted. In addition; our computerized flight following display does not show proper sectors and even when once corrected; several flights still didn't show up. I was behind before even starting; and did not have time to completely set up desk and verify my flights until XB30z. First releases are due at XA04z.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An air carrier dispatcher expressed concern about excessive workloads compromising his ability to complete his tasks in a safe and timely fashion.

Narrative: My midnight shift sector is extremely over-scheduled; especially in light of thunderstorm season. It now consists of 5 sectors; 2 southeast; 2 southwest and a transcon sector. Tonight's 'passdowns' [flights in progress at the time of the Dispatchers' shift change] consisted of multiple diversions; 3 becoming flights of note; maintenance reposition flights; a 'handle manually' MEL; a ground stop for a Hub station and questionable routes to that station once the stop lifted. In addition; our computerized flight following display does not show proper sectors and even when once corrected; several flights still didn't show up. I was behind before even starting; and did not have time to completely set up desk and verify my flights until XB30z. First releases are due at XA04z.

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.