AFS-16-2567-E 

March 16, 2016 

 Exemption No. 15466 

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2005-22457 

Mr. Alan Kasher 

Managing Director/Director of Operations 

Regulatory Programs & Compliance 

Southwest Airlines Company 

2702 Love Field Drive / TOP-1DO 

P.O. Box 36611 

Dallas, TX 75235 

Dear Mr. Kasher: 

This letter is to inform you that we have granted your request for exemption. It transmits our 

decision, explains its basis, and gives you the conditions and limitations of the exemption, 

including the date it ends. 

The Basis for Our Decision 

By letter dated October 22, 2015, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 

on behalf of Southwest Airlines Company (Southwest), for an exemption from 

§ 121.619(a)(1) and (2) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) to the extent 

necessary to allow Southwest’s certificated dispatchers and pilots in command (PICs) to 

dispatch aircraft to domestic airports without designating an alternate for the destination 

airport where for at least 1 hour before and 1 hour after the estimated time of arrival at the 

destination airport the appropriate weather reports or forecasts, or any combination of them, 

indicate the ceiling will at least be 1,000 feet above the airport elevation and visibility will be 

at least 3 statute miles for airports utilizing Category (CAT) I authorizations or the visibility 

will be at least 2 statute miles for airports utilizing CAT II or CAT III authorizations. This is 

a reinstatement of Exemption No. 8654 (Docket No. FAA-2005-22457), which expired on 

January 31, 2010; therefore, we are treating your request as a new petition. 
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The FAA has determined that good cause exists for not publishing a summary of the petition 

in the Federal Register because the requested exemption would not set a precedent, and any 

delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to Southwest. 

The FAA has issued a partial grant of exemption in circumstances similar in all material 

respects to those presented in your petition. In Grant of Exemption No. 8653 (copy 

enclosed), the FAA found that the accuracy of weather forecasts and the ability to monitor the 

actual weather conditions have improved from the accuracy available in 1980. However, the 

FAA also found that weather forecasts are, on occasion, inaccurate compared to the actual 

weather. 

Having reviewed your reasons for requesting an exemption, I find that— 

 they are similar in all material respects to relief previously requested in the enclosed Grant 

of Exemption No. 8653; 

 the reasons stated by the FAA for granting the enclosed Grant of Exemption No. 8653 

also apply to the situation you present; and 

 a grant of exemption is in the public interest. 

Our Decision 

Under the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113 and 44701, which the FAA 

Administrator has delegated to me, I hereby grant Southwest Airlines Company an exemption 

from 14 CFR § 121.619(a)(1) and (2) to the extent necessary to allow Southwest’s certificated 

aircraft dispatchers and their PICs to dispatch flights to domestic airports without designating 

an alternate for the destination airport where for at least 1 hour before and 1 hour after the 

estimated time of arrival at the destination airport the appropriate weather reports or forecasts, 

or any combination of them, indicate the ceiling will be at least 1,000 feet above the airport 

elevation and visibility will be at least 3 statute miles for airports utilizing CAT I 

authorizations or the visibility will be at least 2 statute miles for airports utilizing CAT II or 

CAT III authorization, subject to the following amended conditions and limitations. 

Conditions and Limitations 

1. Before conducting operations under this exemption, Southwest must obtain an updated 

Operations Specification (OpSpec) A005 (Exemptions and Deviations) that provides for 

operations for this exemption. 

2. Operations under this exemption are limited to only those destination airports in the 48 

contiguous States and the District of Columbia. 

3. Operations conducted under this exemption must use a current and qualified aircraft 

dispatcher. 
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4. Operations under this exemption are limited to only those airports at which an operable 

instrument landing system (ILS) procedure is published. Alternate minimums are 

predicated on the following table: 

Table – Alternate Minimums (Ceiling and Visibility Required) 

Operable ILS Ceiling Required Visibility Required 

Category I 1,000 feet above ground level (AGL) 3 statute miles 

Category II 1,000 feet AGL 2 statute miles 

Category III 1,000 feet AGL 2 statute miles 

5. Before conducting operations under this exemption, Southwest must demonstrate to its 

assigned FAA POI’s satisfaction that: 

a. Each Southwest dispatcher has a system available to display the location of 

each flight within 3 minutes of real time; 

b. Each Southwest dispatch facility has a system that provides its dispatchers 

with overlays of weather returns updated at least once every 5 minutes; 

c. Each Southwest dispatch facility has a system that provides its dispatchers 

with a display of the specific aircraft routing as assigned by air traffic control 

(ATC) and actual filed flight plan routing; 

d. Each Southwest dispatcher must have the capability to expeditiously 

recompute projected arrival fuel from a “point aloft” to the intended 

destination in the event conditions, including those required to be reported in 

condition 8 below, occur that negatively impact the flight; 

e. Each Southwest dispatcher must have data available that will show aircraft 

status, including the aircraft capability to conduct CAT I, CAT II, or CAT III 

operations as applicable to the exemption being used; 

f. Each Southwest dispatcher has a system available to display locations of other 

airborne aircraft including aircraft of other operators; 

g. Each Southwest dispatch facility has a system available that provides its 

dispatchers with a display of planned and actual fuel at regular intervals along 

the route and the difference between planned and actual fuel; 

h. Each Southwest dispatch facility has a system available that automatically 

alerts its dispatchers to special weather updates, changes in weather reports, 

and forecasts and/or other significant weather-related reports and ensures that 

these can be relayed to flight crews in an expeditious manner; 

i. Each Southwest dispatcher is provided the capability to access the services of a 

qualified meteorologist approved by the POI whenever the dispatcher believes 
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that consultation is necessary to ensure safety of operations under this 

exemption. The presence of an approved Enhanced Weather Information 

System program satisfies this requirement; and, 

j. Each dispatch release issued in accordance with this exemption will contain a 

statement such as “ALTERNATE WEATHER EXEMPTION APPLIED. 

REFERENCE (APPROPRIATE DOCUMENT SUCH AS FLIGHT 

OPERATIONS MANUAL, GENERAL OPERATIONS MANUAL, ETC.).” 

 The certificate holder may choose to use other wording if desired, but the 

meaning must be clear. 

6. The reporting requirements of the flight crews listed in Condition No. 8, Mandatory Pilot 

Reports, and the required dispatch flight planning and tracking systems in Condition No. 5 

must be used to determine the feasibility of dispatching the flight under this exemption 

and/or continuing the flight dispatch. 

7. Approved Procedures. If the use of these systems, reports, or the occurrence of other 

factors indicate that the conditions under which the flight was originally dispatched have 

changed and may negatively impact the flight, the dispatcher and flight crew must 

reevaluate the continued operations of the flight using approved procedures, and if 

necessary, agree on an alternate plan as soon as practicable after the occurrence of any of 

the following: 

a. En route holding or delaying vectors, airspeed changes, altitude changes, or reroutings; 

b. Unplanned or sustained use of deicing and anti-icing systems or other factors 

directly relating to fuel consumption that may have a negative effect on trip 

fuel requirements; or, 

c. The deterioration of destination weather below a 1,000-foot ceiling and 1-mile 

visibility if using an exemption that requires for at least 2 statute miles 

visibility as listed in the Table above. 

8. Mandatory Pilot Reports. Pilots will notify dispatch as soon as possible in the event of 

any of the following: 

a. Lateral deviation from the planned route by greater than 100 nautical miles; 

b. Vertical deviation from the planned altitude by greater than 4,000 feet; 

c. Estimated time of arrival will exceed planned by greater than 15 minutes; 

d. Fuel consumption in excess of planned that may have a negative effect on trip 

fuel requirements; 

e. Fuel system component failure or apparent malfunction that may have a 

negative effect on trip fuel requirements; 
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f. The flight encounters weather significantly different than forecast, to include 

turbulence; 

g. The flight is assigned en route or arrival holding; or, 

h. Unplanned or sustained use of deicing or anti-icing systems. 

9. Southwest must maintain CAT I (OpSpec C052) / CAT II / CAT III (OpSpecs C059 & 

C060) ILS approach authorization (as applicable) for those aircraft to which this 

exemption would apply, and each aircraft must have fully operating equipment needed for 

the appropriate CAT I/CAT II/CAT III ILS approach for that aircraft to operate under this 

exemption. 

10. At the time of dispatch, the flightcrew must be qualified to conduct a CAT I/CAT II/CAT 

III ILS approach to published minimums (as applicable). PICs with less than the requisite 

minimum hours specified in § 121.652 cannot be used in operations under this exemption, 

unless the operator also holds Exemption No. 5549, the PIC has been trained in 

accordance with the requirements of that exemption, and all the conditions specified by 

Exemption No. 5549 are met. 

11. Operations are not permitted under this exemption at any airport at which thunderstorms 

are reported or forecast from 1 hour before through 1 hour after the estimated arrival time 

if such reports or forecasts are in either or both the main body or the remarks section of 

the weather report or the weather forecast. Furthermore, Southwest cannot use Exemption 

No. 3585 (as amended) issued to Air Transport Association of America, Inc., members 

(including Southwest) or any subsequent exemption granting similar relief regarding any 

kind of forecast of thunderstorms at the destination airport in conjunction with any 

operation conducted under this exemption. Each certificated Southwest dispatcher and 

PIC, who conducts operations under this exemption, must be provided with a copy of 

pertinent parts of this exemption. Operations under this exemption are permitted by 

Southwest dispatchers and Southwest PICs but are not required. 

12. Use of this exemption in operations to destinations outside the contiguous United States is 

prohibited. Southwest is authorized to use this exemption in operations to airports within 

the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia from airports outside those 

boundaries provided Southwest also holds OpSpec A012 (part 121 Domestic Operations 

to Certain Airports Outside the 48 Contiguous States and Alaska) and operations 

conducted in accordance with the appropriate provisions of that OpSpec as they pertain to 

operations from Alaska and/or airports listed in the Table thereof. 

13. Southwest must provide the Administrator, by the 15th day of each month, reports that 

include the information listed below, during the preceding calendar month. The POI is 
6 

authorized to delete this reporting requirement once Southwest has conducted operations 

under this exemption satisfactorily for at least 24 continuous calendar months and 

sufficient data to thoroughly evaluate operational performance have been obtained. 

Reports must contain the following information: 

a. The total number of flights operated by Southwest under domestic rules to 

destinations within the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia; 

b. The total number of flights operated under this exemption, including those 

flights conducted under the appropriate provisions and limitations of OpSpec 

A012. For each flight operated, the dates; airport pairs; flight members; 

aircraft make, model, and serial number; trend or graphical summary of flight 

planned fuel vs. actual arrival fuel; and contingency fuel must be listed. 

Report format shall be a chronological order by fleet type; 

c. The total number of flights that divert to an alternate airport; 

d. The total number of flights that divert to an alternate airport that are separated 

under this exemption, and the reason for each diversion, such as weather 

conditions, mechanical problem, fuel quantity, passenger problem, air traffic, 

crewmember, or any other reason. Southwest must fully document each 

diversion; and, 

e. The total number of Southwest flights, operated under this exemption, that 

declare an emergency and the reason for such declaration, or during which 

flight a low fuel state occurs that results in actions being taken by ATC and/or 

dispatch to provide priority handling, even if no emergency is declared. 

The Effect of Our Decision

This exemption terminates on March 31, 2018, unless sooner suspended or rescinded. 

Sincerely, 

/s/ 

John Barbagallo 

Deputy Director, Flight Standards Service 

Enclosure
AFS-08-213-E 

March 6, 2008 

 Exemption No. 8654C 

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2005-22457 

Mr. Greg Crum 

Vice President-Director of Operations 

Southwest Airlines 

P.O. Box 36611, HDQ1DP 

Dallas, TX 75235 

Dear Mr. Crum: 

This letter is to inform you that we have amended Exemption No. 8654, as amended. It 

explains the basis for our decision, describes its effect, and lists the revised conditions and 

limitations. 

The Basis for Our Decision 

On January 30, 2008, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revised the conditions and 

limitations of Exemption No. 8654, as amended. That exemption from § 121.619(a)(1) and 

(2) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations allows Southwest Airlines (Southwest) its 

certificated dispatchers, and its pilots in command (PIC) to dispatch flights to domestic 

airports at which for at least 1 hour before and 1 hour after the estimated time of arrival at the 

destination airport the appropriate weather reports or forecasts, or any combination of them, 

indicate the ceiling may be reduced from at least 2,000 feet to 1,000 feet above the airport 

elevation and visibility may be reduced from at least 3 statute miles to 2 statute miles. 

Our Decision 

The FAA has modified and/or added to the conditions and limitations of the original 

exemption based on the operational experience gained during its original application. These 

changes have been made to clarify original content, codify existing operational practices, and 

further define the intent of safety-related aspects of these conditions and limitations. In 

addition, the FAA has added a new condition to the existing thunderstorm restriction of 

Condition No. 7. Because the most difficult weather phenomenon to forecast is non-frontal 
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air mass-related thunderstorm and the majority of weather diversions are caused by 

thunderstorm activity during the spring and summer months, Southwest cannot use Exemption 

No. 3585P, or any subsequent amendment, if it includes any (even “chances of”) forecast of 

thunderstorms. 

Under the authority provided by 49 U.S.C. 40113 and 44701, which the FAA Administrator 

has delegated to me, I grant Southwest Airlines an exemption from 14 CFR § 121.619 to the 

extent necessary to allow Southwest, its certificated dispatchers, and its PICs to dispatch 

flights to domestic airports at which for at least 1 hour before and 1 hour after the estimated 

time of arrival at the destination airport the appropriate weather reports or forecasts, or any 

combination of them, indicate the ceiling may be reduced from at least 2,000 feet to 1,000 feet 

above the airport elevation and visibility may be reduced from at least 3 statute miles to 2 

statute miles, subject to the revised conditions and limitations. 

Conditions and Limitations 

1. Before conducting operations under this exemption, Southwest must obtain amended 

operations specifications (OpSpec) that provide for operations under this exemption. 

2. Operations under this exemption are limited to only those destination airports in the 

48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia. 

3. Operations under this exemption are limited to only those airports at which an operable 

Category (CAT) II or CAT III instrument landing system (ILS) is available for use. 

4. Before conducting operations under this exemption, Southwest must demonstrate to its 

assigned FAA principal operations inspector’s (POI) satisfaction that: 

a. Each Southwest dispatcher has a system available to display the location of 

each flight within 3 minutes of real time. 

b. Each Southwest dispatch facility has a system that provides its dispatchers with 

overlays of weather returns updated at least once every 5 minutes. 

c. Each Southwest dispatch facility has a system that provides its dispatchers with 

a display of the specific aircraft routing as assigned by air traffic control (ATC) 

and actual filed flight plan routing. 

d. Each Southwest dispatcher has a system available to display locations of other 

airborne aircraft including aircraft of other operators. 

e. Each Southwest dispatch facility has a system available that provides its 

dispatchers with a display of planned and actual fuel at regular intervals along 

the route and the difference between planned and actual fuel. 

f. Each Southwest dispatch facility has a system available that automatically 

alerts its dispatchers to special weather updates, changes in weather reports, 
3

forecasts and/or other significant weather-related reports, and ensures that these 

can be relayed to flightcrews in an expeditious manner. 

g. Each Southwest dispatcher is provided the capability to access the services of a 

qualified meteorologist approved by the POI whenever the dispatcher believes 

that consultation is necessary to ensure safety of operations under this 

exemption. The presence of an approved Enhanced Weather Information 

System satisfies this requirement. 

h. Each Southwest dispatcher must have the capability to expeditiously recompute projected arrival fuel from a “point aloft” to the intended destination 

in the event conditions occur that negatively impact the flight. 

i. The dispatch release will contain a statement for each flight dispatched under 

this exemption such as “ALTERNATE WEATHER EXEMPTION APPLIED. 

REFERENCE (APPROPRIATE DOCUMENT SUCH AS FOM, GOM, etc).” 

The certificate holder may choose to use other wording, if desired, but the 

meaning must be clear. 

5. Southwest must maintain at least CAT II approach authorization, OpSpec C059, for 

those fleets to which this exemption applies, and each aircraft must have fully 

operating equipment needed for CAT II ILS approaches for that aircraft to operate 

under this exemption. 

6. At the time of dispatch, the flightcrew must be qualified to conduct at least a CAT II 

approach. PICs with less than the requisite minimum hours specified in 14 CFR 

§ 121.652 cannot be used in operations under this exemption unless the operator also 

holds Exemption No. 5549, the PIC has been trained in accordance with the 

requirements of that exemption, and all of the conditions specified by Exemption 

No. 5549 are met. 

7. Operations are not permitted under this exemption at any airport at which 

thunderstorms are reported or forecast from 1 hour before through 1 hour after the 

estimated arrival time if such reports or forecasts are in either or both the main body or 

the remarks section of the weather report or the weather forecast. Furthermore, 

Southwest cannot use Exemption No. 3585P issued to Air Transport Association of 

America, Inc., members (including Southwest) or any subsequent exemption granting 

similar relief regarding any kind of forecast of thunderstorms at the destination airport 

in conjunction with any operation conducted under this exemption. 

8. Each certificated Southwest dispatcher and PIC, who conducts operations under this 

exemption, must be provided with a copy of pertinent parts of this exemption. 

Operations under this exemption are permitted by Southwest dispatchers and 

Southwest PICs but are not required. 
4

9. Use of this exemption in operations to destinations outside the contiguous United 

States is prohibited. Southwest is authorized to use this exemption in operations to 

airports within the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia from airports 

outside those boundaries provided Southwest also holds OpSpec A012 and operations 

are conducted in accordance with the appropriate provisions of that OpSpec as they 

pertain to operations from airports listed in Table I thereof. 

10. Southwest must provide the Administrator, by the 15th day of each month, reports that 

include the information listed below, during the preceding calendar month. The POI is 

authorized to delete this reporting requirement once Southwest has conducted 

operations under this exemption satisfactorily for at least 24 continuous calendar 

months and sufficient data to thoroughly evaluate operational performance have been 

obtained. Reports must contain the following information: 

a. The total number of flights operated by Southwest under domestic rules to 

destinations within the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia; 

b. The total number of flights operated under this exemption, including those 

flights conducted under the appropriate provisions and limitations of 

OpSpec A012. For each flight operated, the dates, airport pairs, flight 

numbers, aircraft make, model, and serial number, trended or graphical 

summary of flight planned fuel vs. actual arrival fuel, and contingency fuel 

must be listed. Report format shall be in chronological order by fleet type; 

c. The total number of flights that divert to an alternate airport; 

d. The total number of flights that divert to an alternate airport that are 

operated under this exemption, and the reason for each diversion, such as 

weather conditions, mechanical problem, fuel quantity, passenger problem, 

air traffic, crewmember, or any other reason. Southwest must fully 

document each diversion; 
5

e. The total number of Southwest flights, operated under this exemption, that 

declare an emergency and the reason for such declaration, or during which 

flight a low fuel state occurs that results in actions being taken by ATC 

and/or dispatch to provide priority handling, even if no emergency is 

declared. 

The Effect of Our Decision 

The termination date of Exemption No. 8654, as amended, remains January 31, 2010, unless 

sooner superseded or rescinded. This letter must be attached to, and is a part of, Exemption 

No. 8654. 

Sincerely, 

/s/ 

John M. Allen 

Acting Director, Flight Standards 

 Service