The November 24th “East/West-One-Day-Two-Calls” OpsChat Bonanza was great! Thank you to all who joined us, and those who shared some useful intel with the group.
Boy, did we cover a lot! The good news is if you missed the show, you can re-watch the recording here:
During the chat, we provided a bunch of links for each topic covered. If you weren’t quick enough to catch them at the time (we don’t blame you), here’s a little summary….
November Updates…
Greenland
What? Baffling Notam issued declaring Greenland’s airports were closed.
What else? Panic not, a better one was then reissued, saying that you could still use Greenland’s airports for ETOPS and diversion alternates. We called them and they said that tech-stops and ferry flights are also allowed (although not listed in the Notam). They’ve basically just banned passenger flights, and don’t want people staying overnight.
More Info:
– Greenland Closes Its Airports To (Nearly) All Passenger Flights – Opsgroup Blog Post
– Official Word from The Danish Civil Aviation
Israel
What? You can now overfly Israel (as well as Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain).
What else? You need a local sponsor, should depart from an approved airport (but they do make exceptions) and need a permit.
More Info:
– Israel overflights now allowed – Opsgroup Blog Post
Hong Kong
What? Strange ILS behaviour, especially on Runway 07R/25L. Pretty much down to antennas, terrain and Boeing AFDS…
What else? They have also updated their Covid entry restrictions for crew – it’s now slightly harder to get in.
More info:
– The Thing About the ILS
– Hong Kong Entry Rules for Flight Crew – OpsGroup Blog Post
– The Official Word
CENEMAR (Central America)
What? There are some new flight planning requirements you need to know about.
What else? You can flight plan direct above FL200, and must include the new AFTN address MHFPZYZX when filing your flight plan.
More info:
– CENEMAR: New Flight Planning Requirements – Opsgroup Blog Post
Other big updates from 2020…
November 5th ICAO changes
When? Er… November 5th!
What? We are talking changes to wake turbulence categories, NAT Contingency Procedrues, SLOP and Gross Navigation Errors.
More info:
– The 511 on Nov 5th Changes – Opsgroup Blog Post
– Hopefully a Link to the New 4444
Wake Turbulence Categories
Other overflights that are now ok
What? FAA SFAR updates – where US operators can’t go!
Where?
– Ukraine: UKFV/Simferopol FIR is ok, UKDV/Dnipro FIR is not ok.
– Iran: Not ok, but the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf are – Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Muscat FIRs.
More info:
– Safeairspace
– Overflying Crimea – Opsgroup Blog Post
Ukraine Airspace and a link to Safeairspace
Russian Me-trics
What? Russia are moving to feet (referenced to QNH) below transition through their airspace, starting with major airports.
When? From December 3rd.
More info:
– Russia are still playing me-trics on us – Opsgroup Blog Post
– The Russian AIP (don’t worry, it is in english too)
ADS-B
What? When will you get in trouble for not having it.
Where?
– Europe: ADS-B is required from June 2023, but have your retrofit plan in by December 7 (unless your AoC is before 1995).
– US: ADS-B is required anywhere Mode C, or in the picture below.
– Rest of World: Above FL290, pretty much.
More info:
– European ADS-B Mandate – Opsgroup Blog Post
– The FAA FAQs on ADS-B
Where you need ADS-B in the US
North Atlantic Datalink Mandate
What? The North Atlantic Datalink Mandate (NAT DLM) is the thing that came into effect in Jan 2020, which meant that CPDLC was then required between FL290-FL410 throughout the entire NAT region. Simply put, you must be equipped with CPDLC and ADS-C if you want to fly between these flight levels.
And then what happened? Then Covid happened. Because of the resulting reduction in traffic they suspended this mandate, and it looks set to stay this way until the end of Feb 2021. Bottom line, aircraft which do not have CPDLC and ADS-C can continue to operate across the North Atlantic between FL290-410 until then.
More info:
– North Atlantic Datalink Mandate – Opsgroup Blog Post
SafeAirspace Update…
Ethiopia
What? Escalating conflict – Danger to overflying aircraft – beware of open airways!!
Where? Ethiopia – the Tigray region bordering Eritrea
More info:
– Safeairspace – Ethiopia
– Airspace Risk Warning: Eritrea and Ethiopia – Opsgroup Blog Post
Ethiopia Tigray region and a link to our post
Saudi Arabia
What? Drone and ballistic missile strikes continue from Yemen, no end in sight.
Where? Southern Saudi Arabia particularly, but Jeddah and Riyadh have also been attacked.
More info:
– Safeairspace
Armenia/Azerbaijan
What? The conflict is ‘officially’ over, but the airspace remains dangerous!
Where? The airspace between Azerbaijan’s UBBA/Baku FIR and Armenia’s UDDD/Yerevan FIR.
More info:
– Safeairspace
Western Sahara
What? An emerging conflict zone, with the threat of anti-aircraft weaponry. Little info or warnings, that may well affect aircraft operating into the Canarias.
Where? Northwestern Africa – a area region between Morocco and the Polisario.
More info:
– Safeairspace
Stay tuned for our next Ops Chat coming up in January 2021!
More on the topic:
- More: Member Meetup – NAT Special: Nov 6, 1500 UTC
- More: Member Meetup: July 3rd – Agenda
- More: Report-A-Thing is a new thing to report stuff
- More: We Want Your Ops Stories!
- More: International Ops Bulletin
More reading:
- Latest: Dodging Danger: The Three Routes Through the Middle East
- Latest: US Pre-Clearance: How does it work?
- Latest: 2025 North Atlantic Plotting & Planning Chart
- Safe Airspace: Risk Database
- Weekly Ops Bulletin: Subscribe
- Membership plans: Why join OPSGROUP?
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