Aircraft minimum equipment list: Current practice and the need for standardisation

Introduced in the late 1960s as part of airworthiness requirements, the aircraft minimum equipment list (MEL) is a document with a list of aircraft components or systems that may be inoperable for dispatch. Prior to the use of MEL, aircraft dispatch was a topic of negotiation between aircraft operators and regulators. Have things around the aircraft MEL changed since its institutionalization? Can we still rely on non-standardized and reportedly ambiguous guidelines to manage this airworthiness topic under the ever-increasing complexity of modern aircraft and the dynamic environment within they operate? This article provides a summary of the current state of this very important airworthiness matter...