Planning a Mine Crew Rotation in Africa: From Roster to Aircraft
A crew rotation is usually sized the wrong way round. Someone picks an aircraft and then fits the roster to it. It works better the other way: start from the roster, work out how many seats each changeover really needs, and let that and the airstrip choose the aircraft.
Need an aircraft? Tell us type, base and hours on WhatsApp or by email, or see the aircraft available on ACMI.
This guide covers the planning. For the safety standard your client is likely to require, read why BARS matters more than IOSA.
Start with the roster
Three numbers set the demand: how many people are on the rotation, how long the full cycle is, and how often you change people over.
A simple sum gives the seats. Divide the changeover interval by the full cycle, then multiply by the number of people. On a four weeks on, two weeks off roster the cycle is six weeks, so a weekly changeover moves one sixth of the workforce. With 300 people on that roster, that is 50 people in and 50 out each week.
Then add what the sum leaves out:
Contractors and visitors who travel outside the roster
Peak weeks, such as shutdowns and planned maintenance
Spare seats for people who miss a flight or leave early
Turn seats into frequency and aircraft size
The same 50 seats can be one flight on a larger turboprop or three flights on a 19 seat aircraft. One flight costs less per seat. Three flights give you more spread through the day and less exposure if one aircraft goes technical.
Look at how shifts hand over. If everyone must arrive before one shift starts, you need the seats together on one aircraft or on flights very close to each other. If arrivals can spread across a day, a smaller aircraft flying several sectors may fit better. Our comparisons of the Dash 8 and Beech 1900D and the ATR 42 and ATR 72 cover how each type behaves when the load changes.
Let the strip have the final word
Before you compare rates, collect the facts about the strip:
Length, surface and strength, and how it behaves after heavy rain
Elevation and the hottest time of day you would operate
Whether it is approved for the type and for commercial passenger flights
Fuel on site, or whether the aircraft must carry fuel for the return
Lighting and navigation aids, which decide whether you can fly early, late or in poor weather
Fuel often decides more than people expect. If the strip has none, the aircraft carries return fuel, and at a hot or high strip that weight can come straight out of the seats you planned to sell. Ask for the payload on your actual sector at your actual temperature, not the brochure figure.
Baggage and freight
Workers on a rotation carry more than a typical passenger, and tools and spares often travel on the same flight. Set a baggage allowance per person and include it in your enquiry. If regular freight is part of the programme, say so at the start, because it can change the aircraft you need. For loads that outgrow the passenger flight, see cargo charter to a remote airstrip.
Plan the commercial terms around real hours
A rotation is normally flown on an ACMI lease or a charter contract, charged per block hour with a monthly minimum. Work out the block hours from the schedule, including any empty positioning, and compare that with the minimum. If the mine slows down, you still pay it. Our guide to block hours, flight hours and cycles explains how short sectors change the sums.
Also agree what happens when the aircraft goes technical. A crew change that slips by a day has a real cost on site, so ask which aircraft covers the flight, how fast it can arrive and who pays. Read what happens when an ACMI aircraft goes AOG for the clauses to check.
A quick checklist before you ask for a quote
Headcount, roster pattern and changeover day
Seats per changeover, including contractors and peak weeks
Departure base and every airfield, with surface, length and elevation
Baggage per person and any regular freight
Your client's safety standard
Start date, term and the block hours you expect each month
Getting a quote
Tell us type, base and hours. If you do not know the type yet, send the roster and the strip details, and we come back with what fits. See the aircraft available on ACMI or read more about aircraft leasing.
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