# Why was my booking refused?

> Every message AerScheduler gives when it will not create a booking, what it means, and the shortest way past it.

Source: https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/scheduling/why-was-my-booking-refused
Section: Scheduling and dispatch. For: Owners, Admins, Dispatchers, Instructors, Students, Renters, Technicians.

AerScheduler never trims a booking quietly. When it will not create one it says which person,
which aircraft or which rule stopped it. This page lists every refusal and the shortest way
past each.

**Who can do this:** Owners, Admins, Dispatchers, Instructors, Students, Renters, Technicians

## No times are offered for the day I want

The Start dropdown lists only 15 minute marks where the resource **and every person on the
booking** are simultaneously free. When nothing overlaps, the list is empty and says "No open
times on this date for everyone selected."

![Booking form, date and time picker](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/time-picker-next-available.png)

Underneath it there is a **Next available** link with a date and a time. Clicking it moves the
form to that slot, which is usually faster than hunting.

Otherwise, shorten the list of people. Adding a second instructor or a fourth student
intersects one more diary into the calculation, so removing somebody almost always opens
slots. Trying another aircraft or another day does the same.

> **Note:** Adding a person **after** you have chosen a time can invalidate it. The end time refits to the
> new overlap, or both times clear. Nothing is wrong: the picker has recalculated against one
> more diary.

## That person does not meet currency requirements

"Jamie Smith is not current on Medical and Flight review."

Somebody on the booking is not current for that aircraft. Currency checks at book are always
on. Open [their currencies](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/scheduling/check-your-currency-status) and look at all four
counts, not just Expired. A currency that has never been signed off counts as not current
even though nothing has run out, and that is the usual answer.

Some currency rules allow the flight with a current instructor aboard. If yours does, adding
an instructor to the booking clears the refusal. Nothing on screen explains that this is what
happened, so it can look as if the block was never real.

## Somebody on the booking is grounded, archived or unavailable

"Jamie Smith is grounded." or "Jamie Smith is grounded for unpaid invoices. Paying them lifts
it."

The refusal always names the person. Two flavors:

- **Grounded for unpaid invoices**, which AerScheduler applies by itself. It says so, because
  paying the invoices lifts it with no admin involved.
- **Grounded by an admin**, where the reason is deliberately not quoted back. It may be
  personal, and the person reading the message is often not the person who is grounded.

Grounding only blocks bookings with an **aircraft** on them. A grounded member can still be
booked into a ground lesson or a simulator session. Archived and unavailable people are named
the same way.

## The aircraft is grounded

A grounded aircraft can be booked for **Maintenance** and for nothing else. That exception is
deliberate: the maintenance booking is what gets it back in service, so blocking it would
leave the aeroplane permanently stuck.

![Booking form, airworthiness notice](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/airworthiness-notice.png)

The airworthiness notice above the time picker is a separate thing. It reports the grounding
reason and any open squawks so you know what you are booking. Open squawks on an aircraft that
is **not** grounded are information, not a block.

See [Why can't I book this aircraft?](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/maintenance/why-cant-i-book-this-aircraft).

## A solo has one pilot, a shared flight has none

The personnel limits are per type, and they are refusals rather than warnings.

| Message                                                                                                        | What it means                                                                                                                                                                               |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| "A solo has one pilot. Book a dual if an instructor is flying with a student."                                 | A solo carries exactly one person. This is regulatory, not a product limit: 14 CFR 61.87 defines solo as the student being the sole occupant, so a two-person solo would be a false record. |
| "A shared flight is two or more pilots sharing one aircraft. With one pilot, book a solo or a rental instead." | Shared means two or more pilots splitting one aircraft.                                                                                                                                     |
| "A shared flight has no instructor. With an instructor aboard it's a dual."                                    | The moment there is an instructor, it is a dual.                                                                                                                                            |
| "Pick an instructor for this dual reservation."                                                                | A dual needs both sides filled in.                                                                                                                                                          |
| "Guest flights need an aircraft."                                                                              | Guest is the one type that always needs a tail.                                                                                                                                             |
| "Enter a valid email. The guest's invoice is sent there."                                                      | The guest's invoice has nowhere to go without it.                                                                                                                                           |
| "A maintenance booking can't have anyone assigned to it."                                                      | Maintenance takes the aircraft off the line and carries nobody.                                                                                                                             |

If you are not sure which type you want, read
[Which reservation type should I use?](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/scheduling/reservation-types) once. Picking the
wrong type is the most common reason a booking is refused.

## That tier can book up to N days ahead

"The Associate tier can book up to 7 days ahead. That booking is 12 days out."

The member is on a membership plan with a booking window. Three things people get caught by:

- It applies to **every** reservation type, so it limits ground school and simulator time as
  well as aircraft.
- It applies when **staff book on that member's behalf** too, because the rule is about whose
  membership it is.
- It applies only while the membership is **active**. A pending or lapsed membership has no
  window at all.

An admin can change or clear the window on the plan. See
[Booking rules and settings](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/scheduling/booking-rules-and-settings).

## Bookings at this school can be at most N hours

"Bookings at this school can be at most 4 hours. This one is 6 hours."

Your school set a **max reservation length** under Booking preferences. Shorten the booking,
or ask an admin to raise the limit.

## Already has N upcoming bookings

"Ana Ruiz already has 3 upcoming bookings, and the school limit is 3."

Or, for a repeating booking:

"This repeat would create 25 bookings, but Ana Ruiz already has 5 upcoming and the school
limit is 20 (room for 15 more)."

Your school capped how many future bookings one member may hold. Every date in a repeating
series counts toward that same cap. Cancel or wait for one to finish, shorten the series, or
ask the front desk.

## Your school hasn't set its time zone yet

"Your school hasn't set its time zone yet, so members can't book online. We've let your
school's admins know. Until it's set, an instructor or the front desk can book this for you."

Nothing is wrong with your booking. Flying hours and booking rules are read on the airport's
clock, and your school hasn't told AerScheduler which clock that is, so there is nothing to
check a booking against. Your school's owners and admins were notified when you were refused,
in the app and by email. Ask an instructor or the front desk to book it in the meantime.

If you are the owner or an admin, set it under `Settings → Organization` (web console)
or `Settings → School time zone` (mobile app). It takes effect straight away. See
[Why the schedule shows airport time](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/scheduling/airport-time-and-time-zones).

## This booking would keep the aircraft overnight

"This booking would keep the aircraft overnight, and multi-day bookings are turned off for
this organization. An owner or admin can enable them in Settings, under booking rules."

You have crossed local midnight at the airport. Note where the line is: a flight that ends
exactly at midnight is fine, and midnight is the last slot the end-time picker offers every
day. 12:15am is a night away.

An admin turns multi-day bookings on under
`Settings → Booking preferences` (web console), and cannot do it until the
school has a time zone set. See
[Book a trip that keeps the aircraft overnight](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/scheduling/overnight-and-multi-day-trips).

## Add a payment method before booking

"Add a payment method before booking. Open Payment methods in your profile, then try again."

Your school requires a card on file before a student or renter books themselves. Add one under
`You → Profile → Payments` (web console) and book again.

It only applies to somebody booking themselves into the student or renter seat. The front desk
booking on your behalf is never blocked by it.

## You are not checked out on that tail

"You're not checked out on any aircraft." when you have no approvals at all, or a message
naming the tail when you click a lane for one you are not approved on. The Aircraft field
clears rather than letting you get further into a booking that would be refused.

A check-out is an explicit approval linking you to one aeroplane. Ask your school to approve
you on the aircraft you can fly. An admin does that from **Approve members** on the aircraft,
or from **Approved aircraft** on your profile. It takes a moment.

## That repeating booking cannot be made

"That repeating booking can't be made" followed by how many dates conflict, up to five of them
named, and "Nothing was booked."

A repeat is all or nothing. If one Tuesday in twelve has a clash, none of the twelve are
created. Fix or avoid the named dates, or shorten the series, and book again. See
[Set up a lesson that repeats every week](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/scheduling/set-up-a-repeating-booking).

## Your account does not have enough credit

"Your account needs at least $200 credit to book. Your account has $0. Add funds
under Billing, or ask the front desk."

The school is on an account ledger and requires prepaid credit before students and
renters book themselves. Add funds on `Billing` (web console), or ask the desk
to post a credit. Owners, admins, and dispatchers booking for you, and instructor-led
duals, are not blocked by this. On a shared flight the other pilot's balance is checked
too; the refusal names them if they are the one under the floor.

A **$0** floor means you cannot book while the account is negative.

## You already owe more than the school allows

"Your account owes $501, and this school does not let members book more than $500
owing. Add funds under Billing, or ask the front desk."

Same self-book rule as the credit floor, but a ceiling on how far into the red you can
go. Paying down the balance (or a desk credit) clears it.

## You cannot start this flight

"Your account needs at least $200 credit to start this flight…" is the same ledger
rule, checked at ramp-out rather than when you booked. Add funds, or ask the desk to
ramp out for you (owners, admins, and dispatchers skip it).

## Bookings more than a year ahead

Nothing can be booked more than 365 days out, by anyone. There is no error message: the date
picker simply will not go there.

## Other refusals worth knowing

- **"Nothing to book yet"** on the Book page. Your account has no role that can book. Ask an
  admin to add student, renter, instructor or technician to you. Owner, admin and dispatcher
  do not count, because they book other people rather than themselves.
- **Notes that will not save.** Notes are capped at 200 characters and titles at 50. The web
  Notes box does not show a counter, so a long briefing note fails on save with an unhelpful
  message. Shorten it.
- **One person in two seats.** A booking cannot put the same person on both sides, for example
  as instructor and as student. A close-out waits on every distinct person, and somebody in
  two seats could never complete it.

## Related

- [Why can't I edit, move or cancel?](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/scheduling/why-cant-i-edit-move-or-cancel): The other half: refusals on a booking that already exists.
- [Check your currencies](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/scheduling/check-your-currency-status): The page behind the most confusing refusal on this list.
- [Booking rules and settings](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/scheduling/booking-rules-and-settings): For admins: which of these rules you turned on.