Definition
A federal regulation governing commercial operators (such as charter and on-demand air carriers) that prohibits dispatching or beginning a flight under IFR to a destination airport unless the latest weather reports or forecasts indicate the weather will be at or above authorized IFR landing minimums at the estimated time of arrival. It also sets the conditions under which an alternate airport must be listed on the flight plan.
Plain English
This is the rule that tells charter and similar commercial pilots when they are allowed to fly toward an airport on an instrument flight plan, and when they must also pick a backup airport in case the weather at their destination is too poor to land.
Context Anchor
Seen during IFR flight planning for Part 135 commercial operations, especially when checking destination weather and deciding whether the flight may legally begin.
Derivation
‘CFR’ stands for Code of Federal Regulations, the organized set of U.S. federal rules. Title 14 covers Aeronautics and Space, Part 135 covers commuter and on-demand operations, and § 135.219 is the specific section addressing IFR destinations and weather minimums.
Why Pilots Care
It sets the legal weather margins that keep commercial IFR flights safe by ensuring a usable backup airport exists before takeoff.
Analogy
Think of the citation like an address in a large rulebook: Title 14 is the city, Part 135 is the street, and § 135.219 is the exact house number where this rule lives.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as a weather minimum printed on an approach chart. It is the regulation that tells a Part 135 operator when a flight may be started based on the destination weather.
Example Sentence 1
Before releasing the charter flight, the dispatcher checked § 135.219 to confirm the destination forecast met IFR landing minimums at the estimated time of arrival.
Example Sentence 2
During preflight, the pilot confirmed the forecast at the alternate complied with 14 CFR Part 135, § 135.219 for the planned IFR trip.