SVEN COZIJN AS DUTY OFFICER OCC @ CORENDON

How did you get your current job?

I graduated at Corendon Dutch Airlines at the Ground Operations de-partment. During my graduation internship I was asked if I was inter-ested in a job after my graduation for during the summer. The job I was offered was called “Ground operations officer”. This was a very interest-ing first job where I had to control the daily operation of the airline from check-in to turnaround. Besides this, we also had to manage the operations at our outstations. During the winter months I went back to “HQ” where I worked on several projects that were related to ground operations and flight operations. I worked on implementing an ACARS protocol for flightcrew and created a two new application for the com-pany that were used to monitor the turnaround process and for flight crew simulator session. During this winter season, Corendon decided to setup its own operations control center (OCC) in Amsterdam. I applied for this function and I got a position. Together with 6 other colleagues we started our initial training and built up the OCC from scratch.

What are your daily operations?

The fun part of this job is that every day is different. One day every-thing is going according to plan, so you can catch up on some emails and work on some side projects. The other day we have a big AOG (air-craft-on-ground) situation where we need to charter a private jet to get us a part that is required to fix the aircraft, make sure our crew rosters are adjusted to this disruption and take care of our passengers that would like to enjoy their vacation as soon as possible or would like to travel home again. Or what about March 2020 when Corendon decided to repatriate all its passengers back to The Netherlands because of the COVID pandemic and me and my colleagues had to work on a schedule to make this happen. I believe that 5 hours after that decision was made, we already had the first aircraft enroute to Las Palmas to pick up our passengers.

On a regular day, we prepare the upcoming flights within 72 hours. We make sure that all long-term preparations that were made by the departments at the main office are carried out. In case some unforeseen circumstances occur (bad weather, a sick crew member, a closed destination etc.), we act to make sure that our flights can still depart on time or we reschedule so we can at least make sure that all our passengers can get at their destination and enjoy their well-deserved vacation safely.

What do you like the most at your job?

I like the responsibility and variety of the job. When you think about an OCC, you first think about a big office space with dozens of desks and people that are calling and working like KLM OCC. Our OCC is just 2 desks and we have to take care of the entire operation. We don’t have as much aircraft as our blue friends, but it is nice that we have to cover all tasks in just one function. Calling a crew member out of standby, arranging a hotel accommodation for 180 stranded passengers or pre-paring a special charter flight to South America is all done by the same person.

I also like the 24/7 shift work. We work in early/late/nightshifts and even during the weekend. Although this sounds heavy, it also gives you lots of free time. As long as you can cope with the sleep rhythm, you are fine.

And of course, joining a flight is also a thing I really like. On special charter flights, we sometimes join the crew to assist them during the operation on the ground. I have been to some very unique locations where you normally don’t go to like Mali or Kosovo.

Where do you see your-self in 5 years?

At the moment, I am happy that I still have my job in aviation. I will take a while to recover from this crisis, but after that I hope I can get a change to work my way up within the company or within the aviation industry. I am also passionate about programming, so maybe can find a combination in these two topics.

What did you like the most from your education that helps you out nowadays in your work?

I graduated in flight operations engineering and I am now working in operations, so you might think that there is no big similarity in what I learnt vs. what I am now doing. But I am still using a lot of knowledge from the Aviation Academy during my daily tasks. At an OCC you need to control all aspects of an airline operation, so having a wide knowledge about aviation is very helpful. I also talk to the crew a lot about decisions they are going to make for their flight, and it is nice to have knowledge about aircraft performance, aircraft navigation or weight & balance so you can understand what they are talking about and advise them if required.

Are you still connected with the Aviation Academy?

Not really at the moment. Although I really want to know how every-body else ended up after their graduation. Maybe the Alumni Association can help in achieving this.