Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Procedure
I got a message on [the system] that showed a filed route and a cleared route for this flight. I looked in Dispatch Monitor and I had not even worked up a release or sent a flight plan for the flight. I figured it was just a glitch or that it was showing me what route ATC wanted me to file (like a Reroute alert) so I called [Center] Flight Data to see if they actually showed a flight plan on file. They said they did. I told them to remove the strips then later I worked up the release and filed the flight plan for the flight. I do not know who sent the first strip or when. There was no plane swap; it wasn't delayed from yesterday into today; it didn't show filed in Dispatch Monitor; it was a strange route that was filed; the proposed time on the strip was not the regularly scheduled departure time of the flight; but a much later time even though the strip was filed hours ahead of scheduled time. I immediately sent an email to duty managers; IT; and all dispatchers alerting them of the issue and suggested that they look in [the system] to see if anything was showing filed that shouldn't have been. The 2 dispatchers next to me both found they had flights that showed on file of which they had not yet filed. It's 19 hours after I sent the email and I have not received a response from IT or management to even say they are looking into it. I would not have even known there was already a strip filed if I hadn't gotten an alert that ATC changed the route that I supposedly filed so there could have been more. I think we need to investigate how these strips are being filed without our knowledge. I feel it's a safety issue that could lead to confusion with ATC and in the worst case; the flight could depart over a fix other than the one ATC is expecting them to.
Dispatcher reported an existing flight plan for a flight that dispatcher had not filed.