Require approval before members book
Students, renters, or instructors in selected roles or groups submit booking requests. Staff approve or decline from the calendar or Home, and approval creates the reservation. Undecided requests expire when the requested time passes.
For owners, admins, dispatchers, students, renters and instructors
When your school turns on booking approval, members in the selected roles or groups submit a request instead of booking instantly. Staff approve or decline from the calendar or the Home Needs you list, and an approved request becomes a real reservation on the board. Requests that are not decided before the requested time passes expire automatically.
Turn approval on#
WebSettings → Booking preferences, in Booking and cancellation rules.
Under Booking approval required, tick the roles that must request approval (student, renter, instructor) and optionally tick Groups requiring approval for any people group.
Off by default. With every role and group off, everyone books the way they always have.
Staff scheduling on the dispatch board is unchanged. Owners, admins, and dispatchers still book directly. Instructors and technicians booking on someone else's behalf also skip the queue.
Submit a request (members)#
When approval applies to you, Book a flight shows Submit request instead of Book. Fill in the same aircraft, time, and crew fields you would for a normal booking. On the web this is under WebYou → Book a flight; in the mobile app, tap Book from Home or the calendar.
Open Booking requests to see pending, approved, declined, and expired requests. On the web that is WebYou → Schedule → Requests. In the mobile app, open Booking requests from the menu or after you submit.
Direct self-book is refused with a clear message if your school requires approval and you try to skip the queue through the API.
You get an email or push when a decision is made if Booking requests is on under notification settings.
Approve or decline (front desk)#
On WebCalendar, open Booking requests when the badge shows pending items. On the mobile app, open Booking requests from the calendar toolbar or from Needs you on Home when the count is shown.
Each row shows who asked, the aircraft, the time, and the reservation type. Press Approve to create the reservation on the board (same checks as a desk booking). Press Decline to close the request without booking.
Approvers need owner, admin, or dispatcher access.
When a request expires#
If nobody approves or declines before the end of the requested time window, AerScheduler marks the request Expired and notifies the member. Expired requests leave the pending queue. They stay in the member's request history so everyone can see what happened.
Staff cannot approve an expired request. The member can submit a new request for a different time.
Needs you on Home#
Owners, admins, and dispatchers see a Booking requests count on Home (and on the web Overview Needs attention strip) when members are waiting. Tap the row to open the pending queue.
Notifications#
| Who | When | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Desk staff | A member submits a request | Email/push to staff with Booking requests on; opens the pending queue |
| Member | Request approved, declined, or expired | Email/push to the member with Booking requests on |
Turn the category on under notification settings (WebYou → Notification settings in the web console, or Settings → Notifications in the mobile app), in the Reservations section.
Related#
Flying day, caps, notice, horizon, and the rest of the shared calendar rules requests still must pass at approval time.
Other refusal messages members see at book time.
Role permissions on the schedule.
Common questions
- Can dispatchers still book walk-ups without a request?
- Yes. Owners, admins, and dispatchers book directly on the calendar. Approval only gates members booking themselves when your policy says so.
- Do booking requests skip calendar rules like minimum notice?
- Members must pick a valid slot when they submit. At approval time, desk staff can bypass minimum notice and horizon, but conflicts, grounding, and the rest of the booking checks still apply.
- What happens if nobody approves before the flight time?
- When the requested end time passes, the request is marked Expired, the member is notified, and it drops off the pending queue.
- Where do members see their pending requests?
- On the web, open You → Schedule → Requests. In the mobile app, open Booking requests. Staff open Calendar → Booking requests, or tap Booking requests on Home when Needs you shows a count.
Still stuck on this?
Email support@aerscheduler.com and tell us what you were trying to do. We answer.