What is block time?

• A. The elapsed time from engine start to arrival at the gate.
• B. Time between taxi-out and takeoff.
• C. The elapsed time from pushback to arrival at the gate.
• D. Time in unserviceable conditions.

Answer: (C)

Block time is the total time the aircraft is in motion from when it begins to move away from the gate (pushback) until it arrives at the gate at the end of the flight. It covers taxi-out, takeoff, all in-flight time, descent and landing, and taxi-in. This makes it the best measure of the actual flight duration the crew and aircraft experience for a scheduled operation.

Other options don’t fit because starting at engine start would include preflight preparation outside the actual flight time, taxi-out to takeoff only misses the airborne and post-landing portions, and the time in unserviceable conditions isn’t a flight duration metric at all.