Commercial Fixed Wing
Dispatch Dispatcher
Workload
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General Flight Cancelled / Delayed
Staffing; Weather
This evening the workload became too heavy to manage and I was forced to stop releasing flights as a last resort to maintain operational control.Within a two hour window I had the following issues:- Flight XXX1 reroute- Flight XXX2 reroute- Flight XXX3 reroute- Flight XXX4 reroute- Flight XXX5 reroute- Flight XXX6; ground delay program - Flight XXX7; ground delay program - Flight XXX8; ground delay program; multiple phone calls from ZZZ and flight crew regarding status of release.- Flight XXX9 changed alternate - Flight XXX9 changed alternate back - Flight XXX10 diverted - Flight XXX11 multiple phone calls from flight crew regarding status of release.- Flight XXX12 revised release twice; first for Captain's request for new route and flight level; second for application of MEL that required performance corrections.- Flight XXX13 long taxi out and eventual return to gate due to ground stop and thunderstorms.- Flight XXX13 refiled on different route to avoid thunderstorms and planned new alternate.- Advised multiple airborne and previously released flights of multiple moderate turbulence sigmets over Missouri; Illinois; Indiana; and Michigan.- Profiled flights that had not yet been released under the previously mentioned moderate turbulence sigmet.Four additional dispatchers were assigned in anticipation of irregular operations. Zero flights were removed from my desk.
Air Carrier Dispatcher reported that the releasing of flights was suspended after workload became unmanageable.