Summary
- ETOPS was developed due to the advancement in aircraft technology, allowing twinjet on routes previously restricted to three- and four-engine aircraft.
- FAA initially allowed jetliners to operate routes two hours away from an accommodating airport in 1985, increasing later to 180 minutes and sometimes 240 minutes.
- The Airbus A330 became the first aircraft to receive an ETOPS-240 approval, surpassing the previous maximum rating of 180, in February 2007.
Although ETOPS is an acronym for “Extended-range Twin-engine Operations Performance Standards,” it is also humorously known as “engines turn or passengers swim.” The acronym ETOPS was developed by ICAO and refers to an aircraft flying over oceans or remote patches of land whilst being “a point further than one hour's flying time from an adequate airport at the approved one-engine inoperative cruise speed.”
Why was ETOPS necessary? A brief dive into its origins
When modern twin jets were developed, it necessitated changes to old rules, which were only applicable to aircraft that were not as advanced as their modern counterparts. The aircraft of years gone by were not as reliable or capable as the ones that currently take to the skies, so the civil aviation regulatory authorities had to come up with a new set of rules.
According to Airbus, the purpose of an ETOPS is:
“ to provide very high levels of safety while facilitating the use of twinjets on routes which were previously restricted to three- and four-engined aircraft. ETOPS operations also permit more effective use of an airline's resources.”
In the past, 4-engine piston aircraft often landed at airports with one of its engines not functioning properly. For aircraft with four engines, that didn't matter, as there were three more with which to complete the trip. However, twin-engine aircraft did not have such redundancy, and so were restricted from being able to operate direct paths.
Twin jets had to remain within range of an adequate airport. However, the flights of a three or four-engine aircraft weren’t subjected to this rule.
But technology moved on, and in 1985, The Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) changed the rules to allow jetliners to operate along paths two hours away from an accommodating airport. Three years later, the FAA approved flights along paths that were 180 minutes away from an accommodating airport. In modern times, the approved maximum has increased to 240 minutes, though not in all circumstances.
The development of ETOPS
Early ETOPS
The first twin-engine widebody aircraft was the Airbus A300. Since 1976, the aircraft had been flying under a 90-minute IACO rule across the Bay of Bengal, the North Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean. It has been reported that the then Boeing director of engineering, Dick Taylor, approached the director of FAA, J. Lynn Helms, to wonder if an exemption could be granted. J. Lynn Helms, then retorted:
"It'll be a cold day in hell before I let twins fly long haul, overwater routes. The requirement for three- or four-engine aircraft for oceanic flight will continue for quite some time, and I don't mean only a year or two."
A year after the Boeing 767-200ER entered service, the FAA increased the ETOPS to 120 minutes at single-engine cruise speed.
The first certification of 120-minute ETOPS was given to Trans World Airlines (TWA) in 1985. The certification came for their Boeing 767 aircraft which was to fly from Boston to Paris. Despite an aircraft having an ETOPS rating, the airlines that operated back then also needed special provisions. This meant special maintenance plans, special fuel quantities, special cabin, flight crew, dispatchers, among other things.
The introduction of ETOPS 180
FAA’s regulations of 1985 meant that an aircraft could be given an ETOPS 120 rating on its entry into service. However, an aircraft had to fly trouble-free for a year before it could be granted an ETOPS 180 rating. This changed with the introduction of the Boeing 777 in 1990, as the 777 became the first aircraft with an ETOPS rating of 180 right at its entry into service.
Beyond ETOPS 180
In February 2007, the FAA decreed that an aircraft could have an ETOPS rating of more than 180 if the operators had a US-registered twin-engine airplane. The first aircraft to receive an ETOPS 240 rating was the Airbus A330.
Some milestones of ETOPS certification
- 1985: The first ETOPS operations (90 minutes) began in February with a Boeing 767 operated by Trans World Airlines (TWA) and later in June by Singapore Airlines with an Airbus A310.
- 1986: The first transatlantic revenue service with A310-200 and A310-300 aircraft began.
- 1990: The Airbus A310-324 (PW4000) became the first FADEC engine-powered aircraft to receive FAA’s ETOPS approval.
- 1990: The Boeing 777 became the first aircraft to get an ETOPS 180 rating.
- 1991: The Airbus A320 was the first fly-by-wire aircraft to be approved for ETOPS operations with 120 minutes diversion time
- 2009: the Airbus A330 became the first aircraft to receive ETOPS-240 approval,
- 2011: The Boeing 777 series received type-design approval from the FAA for operations up to 330 minutes.
- 2015: Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental became the first four-engine aircraft to receive the ETOPS 330 approval.
ETOPS certification
Both the aircraft and the airline need to comply with certain standards for an ETOPS certification. The manufacturer of an aircraft must demonstrate that the crew can operate flights with one engine. The airframe must also be shown to be safe. The airline must demonstrate high standards of flight crew training and maintenance procedures. Therefore, aircraft dispatchers, pilots, and engineers must all be properly certified.