ETOPS flights are those that allow aircraft to fly more than 60 minutes from an alternate airport, thanks to a series of safety regulations and certifications.
ETOPS was originally the English acronym for Extended-range Twin-engine Operation Performance Standards (twin-engine operational performance standards on long flights), a term that has been evolving and becoming more specific over time Extended Twins Operations Extended twin-engine operation.
In essence, it is a series of certifications approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the FAA (Federal Aviation Administrationand EASAEuropean Aviation Safety Agency) that permit commercial aeroplanes with two or more engines in their propulsion plants to undertake long-haul routes, taking into account a specific flight time to an alternative airport. In fact, the time established for ETOPS certification of a flight corresponds to that necessary to reach the nearest suitable airport (at which it can technically land) with only one engine functioning.
Not only must the aircraft have ETOPS certification, but the crew must have passed and obtained specific authorisation to carry out flights of this type.
The initial time stipulated was only a few minutes, but subsequently, the deadlines were extended with safety margins, moving to 90 minutes, then to 120 minutes, later to 180 minutes, and nowadays reaching the permitted – for certain aircraft – 240 minutes of flight, leaving the door open to cover any route with a twin-engine aircraft with complete safety.
In this infographic, we summarise the main concepts related to ETOPS flights.
