Definition
A company-published manual that sets out the procedures, policies, and standards a flight crew must follow when operating that operator's aircraft. It typically covers normal and abnormal procedures, dispatch rules, weather minimums, fuel policy, crew duties, and any operator-specific limitations that go beyond the basic regulatory requirements.
Plain English
It's the operator's official rulebook for how flights are to be flown — what the crew must do, when, and how, in line with that operator's approved way of doing things.
Context Anchor
Pilots encounter an FOM in airline, charter, corporate, flight school, and other organized flight operations, especially when checking approved procedures before a flight.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots must follow FOM procedures; failing to do so can result in regulatory violations or company action.
Intuition Check
Do not treat a Flight Operations Manual as general reading or casual guidance. In an operation that uses one, it is the controlling manual for how flights are supposed to be conducted.
Example Sentence 1
The captain checked the FOM to confirm the company's minimum fuel reserve for the planned route.
Example Sentence 2
During recurrent training the instructor referred pilots to the FOM section on crew rest requirements.