Definition
A person on the ground, typically employed by an operator or dispatch service, who tracks the progress of a flight from departure to arrival, maintains communication with the pilot at agreed intervals, and initiates overdue-aircraft procedures if the flight fails to report or arrive as expected.
Plain English
Someone on the ground whose job is to keep an eye on a flight, stay in touch with the pilot, and raise the alarm if the aircraft doesn't show up or check in when it should.
Context Anchor
Seen in company flight operations, especially charter, cargo, air taxi, and other operations where the operator tracks flights from the ground.
Derivation
Follower comes from the verb follow, meaning to go after or keep track of something. In this term, the follower is not physically behind the airplane; the person is tracking the flight’s progress from the ground.
Why Pilots Care
Provides an additional layer of safety by ensuring someone knows the aircraft's location and status throughout the flight.
Intuition Check
Do not read flight follower as another airplane following your aircraft. In aviation operations, it usually means a person or company function on the ground monitoring the flight.
Example Sentence 1
Before departing the remote strip, the pilot called the company flight follower to confirm the route, fuel on board, and expected arrival time.
Example Sentence 2
Before departure, the pilot filed a flight plan with the flight follower for tracking purposes.