ADS-B has come to the US and many parts of the world. What do you need to know?

Firstly, what is ADS-B? Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast uses the aircraft’s GPS position information and provides it to the mode S transponder allowing ATC to track the aircraft more accurately than radar does.

As of January 1, 2020, all aircraft operating within most US airspace are required to transmit certain information using ADS−B OUT avionics.

Briefly, ADS-B OUT transmits information from the aircraft to ground stations or satellites whereas as ADS-B IN avionics receives information from ground stations or satellite based systems.

The ADS-B required airspace in the US includes everywhere Mode C is required AND:

• Class A, B and C airspace, Class E at or above 10,000’ MSL (but not below 2,500’ AGL).
• Within 30nm of Class B (Mode C veil).
• Above the ceiling and within lateral boundaries of Class B and C up to 10,000’.
• Class E over Gulf of Mexico, at and above 3000’ MSL within 12 nm of US coast. The non-contiguous US is also included: Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico and Alaska.

Also, according to the US AIM, operators flying at 18,000 feet and above will require equipment which uses 1090 ES (extended squitter). Those that do not fly above 18,000 may use either UAT (Universal Access Transceiver) or 1090ES equipment. For international operations 1090ES is by far the most accepted system.

Here’s the operational stuff…

For the most part you may notice very little change from radar controlled airspace and there may be no ADS-B specific controls in your cockpit.

During flight you may encounter ADS-B specific phraseology. Instead of the word ‘radar’ you may hear ‘surveillance’ as in ‘Surveillance service is terminated’. Another example would be ‘Pressure altitude is invalid’ instead of the previous ‘Mode Charlie is invalid’.

Failures may be dealt with differently depending upon avionics installations so check your manuals for any specific procedures. One example is if your left side GPS fails and you are using your number 1 transponder then ADS-B may loose data input therefore select transponder number 2 to continue ADS-B data transmission. There may be no indication of the ADS-B failure in the cockpit.

In the US, the operator is required to fly a route that has ADS-B service availability so the FAA has provided an ADS-B Service Availability Prediction Tool (SAPT) which should be used not more than 24 hours prior to the planned departure to ensure the planned route has ADS-B coverage. If there is an ADS-B outage along your planned route you must plan another route. Make sure your flight planning provider is doing this!

Flight planning codes are important as this is the only way that ATC knows you are properly equipped and authorized. The FAA’s InFO 15015 has good information on filing correctly. There are numerous codes for ADS-B equipment based on your specific installation of 1090MHz ES, UAT and/or VDL mode 4.

The FAA encourages the reporting of ADS-B surveillance malfunctions (AIM 4-5-7 f.). You can do this by phone or radio to the nearest Flight Service Station.

What if I don’t have ADS-B installed right now?

If you still don’t have ADS-B, your options aren’t great. The FAA spells it out in the Federal Register, but simply put, you must receive authorization from ATC to fly before every flight that is planned in ADS-B required airspace.

To do that, you have to use the new ADS-B Deviation Authorization Preflight Tool (ADAPT) that the FAA has developed – which allows you to request authorisation to fly from ATC. Do this online, at least one hour but not more than 24 hours before your flight. AOPA give this advice: “Don’t call the ATC facility to ask, and don’t request access from a controller over the radio – the answer will be no. Only if your ADS-B Out hardware fails in flight will controllers be able to issue an airspace authorization to an airborne aircraft.”

The word from the NBAA is that there is no planned relaxation of the ADS-B rules, so operators who have not equipped will be at the mercy of ATC for every single flight planned through ADS-B airspace. ATC might not be able to grant authorizations for a variety of reasons, including workload, runway configurations, air traffic flows, and weather conditions.

What are the ADS-B rules in the rest of the world?

ADS-B usage is expanding in many countries at different rates. We have compiled a list below of countries and requirements.

Mandates now in effect…

Australia: Requires ADS-B for operations at or above Flight Level 290. Foreign aircraft can operate without ADS-B below FL290 until June 2020. Check AC 21-45 for more info.

Hong Kong: The AIP GEN 1.5.3 states: All aircraft flying within Hong Kong FIR at or above F290 shall be installed with ADS-B. This requirement has been in place since December 2014!

Taiwan: In Jan 2020, ADS-B became mandatory for all aircraft operating within the Taipei FIR, at or above FL 290. Check our article for more info.

Vietnam: Since July 2018, Vietnam has required aircraft over MTOW 15,000kg to have ADS-B. But from 1st Jan 2020, this limit was brought down to apply to all aircraft over 5,700kg. Aircraft without ADS-B can still operate through Vietnam’s airspace, but are restricted to the lower levels. AIC 08/16 has all the details.

India: The ADS-B mandate across Indian airspace outlined in AIP SUP 148/2018 was due to take effect on 1st Jan 2019, has got delayed to 1st Jan 2020 (as advised by Notam). This AIP supplement states that all aircraft flying on PBN Routes pretty much everywhere in Indian continental airspace at or above FL290 must carry serviceable 1090 MHz ES ADS-B transmitting equipment that has been certified as meeting the requirements.

United Arab Emirates: AIC 13/2019 published in Nov 2019 says “Operators are made aware that ADS-B OUT will be mandated from 01 January 2020 within UAE airspace.” That means you need ADS-B everywhere, at all flight levels!

Malaysia: As per AIC 03/2017, from 31 December 2019 you need ADS-B to be able to operate on airways N571, P628, L510, P627, L645 and P574 between FL 290 to FL 410.

Singapore: Since May 2018, ADS-B has been required for ops at or above FL290 on airways L642, L644, M753, M771, M904, N891, N892, Q801, Q802, Q803 and T611. Check the AIP ENR 1.8 Section 7 for details.

Indonesia: Since the start of Jan 2018, all aircraft flying in Indonesian airspace at or above FL290 needed to be equipped with ADS-B. Check our article for more info.

French Polynesia/Tahiti: The AIC PAC-P A 06/19 says that from 1 January 2019, aircraft flying above flight level 195 need ADS-B. Then from 1 January 2022, this will be required for all flight levels!

Upcoming mandates…

Europe: ADS-B will be required after 7 June 2020 for aircraft over 5700kg and flying faster than 250 knots and on an IFR flight plan. There will be some exemptions for older aircraft in Europe. Check this EASA doc for more info.

Seychelles: From 7 June 2020, you’ll need ADS-B to fly through the FSSS/Seychelles FIR. AIC 1/2019 applies.

New Zealand: The CAA proposed rule change would make ADS-B mandatory for all aircraft in controlled airspace below Flight Level 245 from 31 Dec 2021.

Saudi Arabia: ADS-B will be required in Class A and B airspace starting 1 Jan 2021. The way they’ve published this is confusing: the requirements are laid out in this GACAR Part 91 document, backed up by this Notam issued for the OEJD/Jeddah FIR:
A1871/19 – ADS-B OUT REQUIREMENT ENFORCEMENT DATE IN CLASS A AND B AIRSPACE AS PER GACAR PART 91.303 IN KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA HAD BEEN CHANGED TO 1 JANUARY 2021 INSTEAD OF 1 JANUARY 2020. 31 DEC 19:15 2019 UNTIL PERM. CREATED: 31 DEC 19:30 2019

Mongolia: This one straight from the AIP SUP: From 17 June 2021 at 0000 UTC, all aircraft flying within the airspace of Mongolia above flight level 6150m must carry serviceable ADS-B transmitting equipment (Mode S Transponder and GNSS source position)… Whilst aircraft flying below flight level 6150m, the carriage of ADS-B equipment remain optional.

Mexico: A Circular issued by the Mexican CAA in Dec 2019 advises that the ADS-B requirement over airspace of Mexico has been delayed until 1 Jan 2022.

South Africa: The plan was to mandate ADS-B at or above FL290 from April 2020, but they have recently issued a draft AIC that says this will be delayed to 15 June 2023.

Canada: In Nov 2019, Nav Canada announced it was delaying its 2021 ADS-B mandate. No new date has been set yet. So although ADS-B will be used for surveillance in Class A airspace (i.e. above FL180) from 25 Feb 2021 onwards, it won’t be mandatory for aircraft to be equipped.

Sri Lanka: Not mandated yet, but something’s in the pipeline. The CAA states on their website: “This is to inform all aircraft operators operating in Sri Lanka airspace (Colombo FIR) that ADS-B trial operations have been commenced and in the near future it will be fully operational covering the entire Sri Lanka sovereign airspace and extending the surveillance coverage of Colombo FIR further.”

Any countries we missed? Let us know!

There are some new route requirements for flights to BIKF/Keflavik and BIRK/Reykjavik. 

These can be found in the updated version of AIP ENR 1.8.4.1.3.7 which explains exactly how you should file your flight plans to/from both BIKF and BIRK. But to make all this blurb easier to understand, the good folks at Isavia have published some handy graphic presentations of the requirements:

If you follow the guidance and flight plan accordingly, you should avoid any nasty last-minute “FPL REJ” messages!

Further reading:

• You can check the full Iceland AIP online here.
• For a summary of all the NAT changes, including EGGX/Shanwick, CZQX/Gander, BIRD/Iceland, ENOB/Bodo, LPPO/Santa Maria, and KZWY/New York Oceanic East, click here.

Foreign operators doing charter flights to Malaysia now need to obtain a “Foreign Air Operator Certificate” (FAOC) to be able to get a landing permit, and this needs to be requested 90 days in advance!

This new requirement was introduced earlier this year with AIC 3/2019, but authorities have only recently started implementing it.

Private flights are not affected. The process for these remains the same as before – apply a week in advance, either direct to the authorities at airtransport@dca.gov.my, or through a third party agent (recommended!). Local agents have said that Air Ambulance / Medevac flights do not need to obtain an FAOC either.

But for charter flights, the new requirement looks like a real pain. Here’s how it works… (thank you Julie at ASA Group for helping with this info!)

1. Application needs to be sent 90 DAYS prior to the intended first trip into/out of Malaysia. The following documents need to be submitted:
– Completed FAOC Matrix form (see links below).
– Carriers liability insurance.
– If aircraft is leased, approval of civil aviation authorities of the State of the Operator of the lessee, with identification of the operator that exercises operational control on the aircraft.
– Document authorizing the specific traffic rights, issued by appropriate department or resulting from a bilateral air transport agreement (and any other document the CAAM considers necessary to ensure that the intended operations will be conducted safely).
– Letter of appointment on behalf of the operator to say that their chosen handling agent in Malaysia (i.e. ASA Group) can apply on the operator’s behalf.

The FAOC will be valid for one year.

2. Once the FAOC is issued, then you have to get your handling agent to apply for each landing/overflight permit for you via the Aerofile system. Here’s what they’ll need from you to make that happen:
– Airline/Operator Code in IATA (2 characters) & ICAO (3-4 characters) format.
– Home county of registration.
– Copy of FAOC.
– Copy of your own AOC issued in your country of registry.
– Main office address and contact for the operator.
– Copy of insurance coverage.
– Appointment letter from operator stating that the handling agent can apply on their behalf

All subsequent individual applications for landing permit requests after successful application in the AeroFile system will require a copy of the Gendec (and for bigger aircraft with 20 seats or more, you’ll also need to provide a copy of the Charter Agreement).

For these landing permit requests through the Aerofile system, your handler will need a minimum of three days notice. They should request slots at the same time as requesting the landing permit.

To clarify – an FAOC is only required for landing permits for charter flights. Overflight permits will need to be applied for via the Aerofile system, but do not need an FAOC.

Handy links:

Aerofile system – https://www.mavcom.my/en/industry/aerofile-registration/ 

FAOC forms – http://www.dca.gov.my/sectors-divisions/flight-operations/forms/foreign-air-operator-certificate-faoc/

AIC 3/2019 – https://ops.group/dashboard/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/WM-eAIC-2019-03-en-MS.pdf

Samoa is in the grip of a serious measles outbreak right now. Over the past six weeks, the outbreak has infected nearly 4,000 people out of a population of 200,000, killing 60, mostly children under four. A nationwide state of emergency has been declared, which will remain in place until Dec 29.

Medical teams from around the world are now working with UNICEF to bring in vaccines to support the Samoan government’s vaccination programme.

Tonga and Fiji have also reported cases of measles, although the situation seems to be more under control here – largely due to the higher rates of vaccination amongst its populations. In Samoa, the World Health Organisation estimates that only around 30% of the population had been vaccinated prior to the recent outbreak.

The Samoan government effectively shut down the island on Dec 5 and 6, whilst they carried out a door-to-door mass vaccination campaign across the country.

As of Dec 16, the government says that 93% of population had been vaccinated, and announced that the state of emergency would be extended to Dec 29 to allow the authorities to reach the remainder of the population that is yet to be vaccinated.

So far, flights have been operating as usual, and no restrictions have been announced at the country’s international airport, NSFA/Faleolo.

Neighbouring American Samoa has reported two cases of measles in the past few weeks. Concerned about the spread of the virus, authorities at NSTU/Pago Pago airport on American Samoa have been denying landing to anyone flying in from Samoa (i.e. NSFA/Faleolo) or Tonga (i.e. NFTF/Fuaʻamotu) if they don’t have a measles vaccination certificate. We’ve had reports in AiportSpy that the same has been happening at PLCH/Christmas Island as well. In addition, authorities in the Marshall Islands and the Solomon Islands have announced that travellers will need proof of measles vaccination to be able to enter the country.

For operations to all airports in the region, ensure your vaccinations are all up to date, and that you carry certificates on board with you to present to the local authorities.

French ATC strike alert! And this one’s going to be a MONSTER!! Notams have now been published confirming this week’s strike will last for three whole days, from 1800z on Wednesday Dec 4 until 0500z on Sunday Dec 8. 

It’s part of a nationwide strike which will also impact ground handling services at airports nationwide. Initially called by public transport unions opposed to the government’s pension reforms, various other unions have since pledged to join the strike, including public sector workers, teachers, postal workers, hospital staff, firefighters and lorry drivers. Many unions have warned that strikes might run until Christmas, but for now, air traffic controllers have only planned strike action for three days this week.

In the Eurocontrol teleconference on Monday Dec 3, managers said they expect en-route regulations will be applied across all sectors – which means big delays pretty much everywhere. If you can avoid France during this period, do so.

The situation at the airports is slightly more complex. The worst staff shortages are expected to happen at the ACC level, rather than at the local airport level. However, there are some airports which are expected to have some issues:

LFPG/Paris Charles De Gaulle: On the morning of Thursday 5th Dec, there will be an airport firefighter strike between 07-12 local time (06-11z). As a result, only one runway will be available for this period, so significant delays are expected all morning, particularly if weather conditions aren’t so great.

LFBO/Toulouse & LFBD/Bordeaux: High delays expected all three days

LFBP/Pau, LFBT/Tarbes, LFBZ/Biarritz, LFMD/Cannes, LFOP/Rouen, LFQQ/Lille: Smaller airports mean possible closures, particularly at night. For these and other smaller airports, ATS services may not be provided at all at certain times – and you’ll probably need to check the airport’s own Notams for any signs of that.

Additionally, the government has stepped in and decided to request the airlines to reduce their schedules by 20% between 05-23z on December 5th at these airports: LFOB/Beauvais, LFPG/Paris Charles De Gaulle, LFLL/Lyon, LFML/Marseille, LFBO/Toulouse, LFBD/Bordeaux. The Notam confirming that can be found here.

As usual with these French strikes, Algeria and Tunisia have both said their airspace can be used by flights trying to route around French airspace, without having to obtain overflight permits. But operators need to make sure they add their AFTN codes on flight plans! That means don’t just file your FPL to the normal Eurocontrol addresses, but include those for Algeria (DAAAZQZX and DTTCZQZX) and Tunisia (DTTCZQZX and DTTCZRZX) – and make sure these are included for any subsequent DLA messages as well.

For real-time updates of any airspace issues once the strike has started, keep an eye on this handy French ATC webpage: http://dsnado.canalblog.com/

And check out our article for everything else you need to know about how to survive French ATC strikes!

Update Nov 22: The Italian ATC strike on Monday 25th Nov isn’t going to be as bad as expected. The 24 hour strike has been downgraded to a 4 hour strike, from 12-16Z, 1-5pm local. Overflights and intercontinental arrivals exempt; other traffic may see a delay but it will vary from place to place. Primarily, it is the en-route center controllers that are striking.

ATC staff from all four ACC’s across the country (LIRR/Roma, LIBB/Brindisi, LIMM/Milano and LIPP/Padova) will be on strike, plus local ATC at the following airports: LIRA/Rome, LIBR/Brindisi, LIBD/Bari, LIBP/Pescara.

Watch out if you’re headed to either LIPY/Ancona or LIRZ/Perugia though – ATC at these airports will still be going on strike for the full 24hrs as originally planned, so big delays expected here.

For updates, keep an eye on the Eurocontrol NOP page on the day of the strike.

On Nov 15, authorities in Venezuela issued a Notam immediately suspending all GA/BA flights from operating to airports in the country. The ban was due to remain in place until 2359z on Nov 20, but got cancelled on Nov 18.

Here was the Notam, issued by the SVZM/Maiquetia FIR:

A0842/19 – GENERAL AND PRIVATE AVIATION OPS INCLUDING REMOTELY PILOTED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM (RPAS) ARE SUSPENDED. OVERFLIGHTS CROSSING SVZM / FIR ARE ALLOWED. 15 NOV 10:00 2019 UNTIL 20 NOV 23:59 2019. CREATED: 15 NOV 04:01 2019

The last time the Venezuelan government issued a ban like this was back in Feb 2019, which seemed to be related to wider attempts by the government to limit the travel of opposition politicians. This latest ban probably had similar motivations – with Venezuela’s President Maduro calling for government supporters to march and rally across the country on Nov 16 to counter protests called for by oppposition leader Juan Guaidó in Caracas on the same date.

U.S. operators have been prohibited from operating to Venezuelan airports — and from overflying the country below FL260 — ever since 1st May 2019 when the US FAA issued a “Do Not Fly” instruction. Two weeks after that, the U.S. ordered the suspension of all commercial passenger and cargo flights between the U.S. and Venezuela, and this applies to both U.S. and foreign registered carriers.

Our advice remains the same: you don’t want to go to Venezuela at the moment. The official advice of both the US and Canada couldn’t be clearer, they both say the same thing: do not travel to Venezuela due to risks posed by the ongoing unstable political and economic situations and the significant levels of violent crime.

For overflights, here’s what we suggest…

To the WEST
– via Colombia (SKED/Bogota FIR) – permit required for all overflights.
Note: watch out if planning a flight through the TNCF/Curacao FIR – although a permit to overfly is not required here, you will need to prepay for navigation fees in advance. More on that here.

To the EAST
– via Guyana (SYGC/Georgetown FIR) – permit not required
– via Suriname (SMPM/Paramaribio FIR) – permit required
– via French Guyana (SOOO/Rochambeau FIR) – permit required unless operating a GA aircraft under 12.5k lbs.

If you need a tech stop and previously used/considered SVMI, then look at alternatives like TNCC, TTPP, SBEG, SMJP. Use OpsGroup’s GoCrow planning map to figure your best alternate options:

Nice Airport will launch Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) on Nov 25. The main impact to operators will basically be that strict timings will have to be adhered-to for the entire start-up process: flight clearance, engines start-up approval and parking off-block will all have to be done within strict timeframes, otherwise your flight will drop out of the CDM system and you’ll likely get hit with a significant delay.

Top tips from local handler Swissport are as follows (we’ve paraphrased slightly):

Flight dispatch:

• It is now compulsory to file the flight plan so that it exactly matches the Airport Slot booked by your ground handler. If the flight plan and the Airport Slot timings are not exactly the same, the Big CDM Computer at the airport will get terribly confused, your flight plan will get rejected, and you won’t be flying anywhere.
• As a consequence, any time you want to change your schedule you must let your handler know first! They get a new Airport Slot for you first, then enter your flight into the CDM system, and then you can change your flight plan.

Flight deck crew:

• Strict timings will have to be respected for the start-up process : flight clearance, engines start-up approval and parking off-block will have to be performed in due time, otherwise the flight will be SEQUENCE OUT and the CDM process will have to be reset, resulting in significant delays.
• The TSAT (Target Start-up Approval Time) is the key timing since all the departure process is based on it. Your ground handler can provide you with your TSAT, and it can also be monitored directly by the crew on the CDM website (see the attachments below on how to do that).
• The transponder is part of the process for the validation of some CDM milestones. The transponder should be switched on before taxiing and switched off once on-block. Switching the transponder on/off during taxiing generates wrong timings in the whole process management, and the Big CDM Computer doesn’t like that.

Bottom line, just make sure you keep talking with your ground handler throughout the whole departure process, so they can manage all these times for you in the system.

Swissport has provided a handy guide for operators on what to expect (click the image below to open the full version!):

Other things worth knowing at LFMN/Nice:

• With the change to RNP approaches only (i.e. what would be known in the U.S. as RNAV GPS approaches), the airport is filing violation reports even if you request and get cleared for any other type of approach. The tip is to double check your FMS database before you fly to confirm all approaches are loaded, especially the RWY 04 RNAV-A and RWY 22 RNAV-D. See Airport Spy reports on LFMN for full reports.
• From March 2019, any schedule change (ETA, ETD, flight number, provenance or destination airport) will generate a new PPR number – now called “Slot ID” – that will have to be updated in the FPL, still in field 18. Bear in mind that this process will take at least 10-15 minutes to have the new schedule validated by the airport and get the new Slot ID.
• France has started a thing called CASH – Collaborative Aerodrome Safety Highlights. It’s basically a selection of briefing packages for certain airports, drawn from information supplied by airlines, operators, and ATC. So far, they’ve published ones for LFBK/Bastia, LFOB/Beauvais, LFKC/Calvi, LFPB/Paris Le Bourget, LFPG/Paris Charles De Gaulle, LFMN/Nice, and LFBO/Toulouse. More info

The U.S. has announced it will suspend scheduled flights to all airports in Cuba except for MUHA/Havana, in another attempt to limit cash flows going to the Cuban government. The affected airlines, including American, Delta and JetBlue, now have 45 days to wrap up their operations to those other destinations in Cuba, before the ban goes into effect on Dec 10.

This does not apply to Part 135 non-scheduled charter flights – these are still allowed to operate from the U.S. to any international airport in Cuba. However, it’s still a tricky business to operate these flights and stay within the rules. Policies introduced by the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) in 2017 mean that there are only a handful of categories of permitted travel between the US and Cuba.

As for Part 91 private flights from the U.S. to Cuba, these have been completely banned since June 2019. This was a policy introduced by the US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which meant that U.S. operators could no longer operate an N-reg aircraft privately to Cuba for any reason – it doesn’t matter if your passengers meet OFAC’s “permitted categories of travel” or not, it’s a no-go.

For non-U.S. operators traveling to Cuba from anywhere other than U.S. territory, it should be a doddle. Get a landing permit, arrange your ground handling, file your flight plan, and off you go. Check out our article for more info.

If you’re headed to Cuba — even to MUHA/Havana — you should double-check with your insurance provider about your coverage. We received the following report, which suggests that with the new U.S. sanctions, many U.S. operators may no longer be covered:

“Being the insurance director of an Airline, I’m having the dilemma whether the insurance would cover any damages/losses/injuries may have occurred during Cuba flights. Because, when I raised the question, insurers simply replied with an aviation clause called AVN111/AVN111(R) which says insurers would verify each individual case with relevant sanction authority (in this case, OFAC) and do their best to grant permission to reimburse the losses. It can easily take years to get resolved which essentially means there is no actual protection against losses”…

In principle, U.S. operators with an insurance policy from a non-U.S. based insurer can get insurance cover for Cuban ops. However, in practice it may not be possible to even purchase this, as lots of these policies are underwritten by U.S. based insurers – especially for higher policy limits.

On 23rd Oct 2019, the US issued an emergency order prohibiting U.S. operators from flying in Libyan airspace. The guidance here is very clear: do not operate anywhere in the HLLL/Tripoli FIR, at any flight level.

This follows months of civil war in Libya, with militia from the east mounting a campaign to seize control of Tripoli, including HLLM airport, and threatening to shoot down aircraft operating in western Libya.

In recent months there have been a number of airstrikes targeting HLLM/Mitiga airport, the latest coming on Aug 15, which reportedly killed two people and forced the airport to close. There are videos on social media showing planes landing at the airport as shells are falling in the background.

Prior to yesterday’s announcement, the U.S. guidance on Libya was that operators were allowed to overfly Libya at FL300 or above, except an area in the north-western part of the country over Tripoli, where all flights were prohibited. Here’s what that looked like:

But this guidance is now defunct. The FAA website now shows the updated guidance for Libya – including the Background Notice.

Germany and Malta still have warnings in place which mirror the old advice of the U.S. – do not fly over the north-western part of Libya, but overflights of the rest of the country are permitted at the higher flight levels. The UK and France advise against all overflights. These warnings may be updated in the coming days, following the new advice from the U.S.

Libya remains politically unstable, with a fragile security situation across the country. In their SFAR issued back in March 2019, the U.S. said that the main threat to aviation at the lower flight levels stems from the widespread proliferation of man-portable air-defence systems (MANPADS) across the country:

“Both GNA and advancing LNA forces have access to advanced man portable air defense systems (MANPADS) and likely anti-aircraft artillery. These ground-based weapon systems present a risk to aircraft, but only at altitudes below FL300. LNA forces have tactical aircraft capable of intercepting aircraft at altitudes at and above FL300 within the self-declared military zone in Western Libya, which may present an inadvertent risk to civil aviation operations in Western Libya. While the LNA tactical aircraft threat is likely intended for GNA military aircraft, an inadvertent risk remains for civil aviation at all altitudes due to potential miscalculation or misidentification.”

However, there are factions on the ground in Libya which possess weapons capable of targeting aircraft above FL300. The LNA is one of many armed groups in Libya which continues to use various rocket systems looted from Gaddafi’s stockpiles at the end of the war in 2011. In May 2018, the LNA proudly displayed a refurbished Russian-made surface-to-air missile system at HLLB/Benina Airbase in Benghazi. This system has the capability to engage aircraft at altitudes up to FL450.

The opposing GNA forces have surface-to-air missile systems of their own. Some reports indicate that the GNA are in possession of the Russian-made SA-3 system, which has the capability to engage aircraft at altitudes over FL800.

With the current conflict between these and other rival factions on the ground in Libya now escalating, it’s not clear what level of control the main players hold over their missile systems.

Bottom line, there’s still a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes and across all parts of Libya.

Even if you are allowed to overfly the country, there are only two approved routes available, in the far north-eastern corner of the country, as per HLLL Libyan Notam A0063/17:

Northbound: LOSUL UP128 LAB UM979 RAMLI UZ270 OLMAX (even levels)
Southbound: RASNO UY751 LOSUL (odd levels)

Even on these routes, reliable ATC services cannot be guaranteed. The past few years have seen regular ATS and radar outages across the HLLL FIR airspace, and severe limitations in VHF capability, with operators having to communicate with Malta ATC for guidance.

Given the current security concerns, we continue to list the entire country as “Level 1 – Avoid” at SafeAirspace.net

Notams have now been published advising of the planned nationwide ATC strike on Friday Oct 25.

The strike will happen between 13-17 local time (11-15z), although it looks like the LIBB/Brindisi sector in the south-east of the country will run from 12-16 local time.

When these 4-hour strikes go ahead, overflights and “incoming intercontinental flights” (i.e. those from outside Europe) are normally not significantly affected, but there are often big delays for flights to/from Italian airports.

LIRZ/Perugia airport has also announced a local ATC strike between 1300-1700 local time the same day. There may be more local airport-level ATC strikes announced in the coming days, so watch out for those too, as these are the airports which are always worst affected by delays.

You can see the full Notam for the nationwide strike here. For updates, keep an eye on the Eurocontrol NOP page on the day of the strike. Eurocontrol will be hosting a teleconference with more info on what to expect, on Thursday 24th Oct at 1200z; you can dial in on +44 2071 928000, and punch in the conference ID number 1581056.

Further reading:

• All the latest official information about Italy ATC strikes can be found here. Just make sure you have your Google Translate tool enabled on your browser!

Airlines and operators are preparing for major peak-hour disruption at VABB/Mumbai Airport, on account of a partial shutdown of the main runway over the next five months.

The main runway will be closed for repairs from 4th Nov 2019 to 28th Mar 2020, between 0930-1730 local time, Mondays to Saturdays. The second runway will be operational during this time, but this can only handle 36 flights per hour – which is around 80% of the regular traffic.

The main runway will remain open on all the big festivals and holiday dates during this period: Dec 25, Jan 1 & 15, Feb 19 & 21, Mar 10 & 25.

This is the second time this year that Mumbai airport has enforced a partial runway shutdown. The first instance, which lasted from Feb 7 to March 30, was for repair works at the intersection of the two runways, which lead to peak hour closures.

This new closure has been announced through a combination of Notam (for Nov 4 to Nov 7), and AIP SUP (for Nov 7 to Mar 28).

Other things worth knowing:

• It’s not showing on the Notams, but local handlers have confirmed that VABB/Mumbai is closed to GA/BA flights daily at the following local times: 0800-1000, 1730-1930, 2115-2315, 0320-0400.
• VASU/Surat airport may be a good alternate for VABB/Mumbai (120NM away). It became an international airport of entry in Feb 2019 and has a 2250 metre long runway with ILS. The next nearest airports are VOGO/Goa (230NM away), or VAAH/Ahmedabad (240NM away).
• The ADS-B mandate across Indian airspace outlined in AIP SUP 148/2018 that was due to take effect on 1st Jan 2019, has now been delayed to 1st Jan 2020. Confirmation of this can be found in Notam G1995/18 (issued for VABF VIDF VECF VOMF).
• Since India introduced e-visas back in Feb 2018, they have stopped issuing visas on arrival. Crew must apply for the ‘e-Business Visa’, and passengers must apply for the ‘e-Tourist Visa’, on the government website: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/

The airport launched an Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) trial on Sep 16 which will continue until Spring 2020. In theory you should see faster turnaround and taxi times, but there are two key requirements to be aware of:

1. Make sure you’ve got slots approved in advance for arrival and departure.
2. For departure, you’ll get a Target off Block Time (TOBT), which you’ll need to update with ATC if you think you’re going to exceed it by 5 minutes or more.

The airport started requiring GA/BA flights to obtain slots back in February 2019. After a few teething problems, they decided to start allowing local handlers to arrange these on behalf of operators. If you get a local handler to do this for you, you can book slots up to 30 days in advance – Skycharter & Signature provide this service.

If you do want to arrange slots yourself, that’s still an option, but you will only be able to request these 3 days in advance. Various flight planning providers have said they can arrange slots for operators too, but they all seem to be restricted to 3 days as well. Toronto is a busy airport, and this restriction may mean that you won’t be able to get the arrival/departure times that you want.

Once you have your slots, your aircraft then gets automatically entered into the A-CDM system. For departure, you will get a Target off Block Time (TOBT), and pilots will need to update this with ATC if they think they are going to exceed it by 5 minutes or more – getting your handler to update your slot reservation at this stage won’t work! Once you get within 10 minutes of the TOBT, you can only update it 2 more times. If a third TOBT update is required, you’ll need to contact the Airport Flow Manager for instructions (+1-416-776-2236).

The airport has published this A-CDM quick reference guide for operators:

Other useful stuff to know about CYYZ/Toronto:

• Toronto still has a night curfew between the hours of 0030-0630L. If you need to arrive between those hours, you need to contact the after-hours slot team (+1-416-776-3480), who will consider your request. But watch out! For ops approved during the curfew hours they usually charge you around 20 times the landing fee!
• All the approach charts now make reference to a new procedure, implemented in Feb 2019, called Continuous Descent Operations (Jepp chart 10-2). This is designed to help reduce airport noise levels, and involves aircraft flying a continuous descent in the lowest power and drag configuration possible. ATC may instruct pilots to do this during daytime and evening periods when traffic is relatively light. More info
• Updated advice has been issued about the runway selection criteria at Pearson. When the north-south runways are in use (RWY 15/33) the airport sees an arrival capacity reduction of around 40%. So crosswind component guidelines have been included in AIC 12/19 for dry, wet and contaminated runways.

If you have further info to report, please do! Email us at news@ops.group

Plans are afoot for the big event happening in Tokyo in October – the enthronement of the new emperor!

The bad news for operators – authorities are now telling local handlers that GA/BA will be completely prohibited from both RJAA/Narita and RJTT/Haneda airports in Tokyo from 19-26 Oct.

The only flights that will be considered are those carrying official delegations – but even most of those will have to find parking elsewhere. Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) anticipates around 150 official delegation flights will visit Japan for the event, but with the Tokyo airports only having space for around 50 aircraft between then, the remaining 100 or so aircraft will be forced to reposition elsewhere.

So far, the only advisory JCAB have officially published on this is here – a vague warning that basically says head of state flights will be given priority at the Tokyo airports, and to expect congestion at all the other main international airports across the country. Local handlers expect RJGG/Nagoya, RJBB/Osaka, and RJSS/Sendai to be worst affected.

Airspace Restrictions

JCAB have published these already, available here. Ultimately, between Oct 21-25, SFC-UNL, no one will be allowed to fly within 25NM of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, unless they have special approval from ATC.

We will keep this page updated with further restrictions and announcements as we get them. If you have any news to share, please email us at news@ops.group

U.S. operators with the old MNPS approvals issued before 2016 have until 31 Dec 2019 to get these updated if they want to keep flying on the North Atlantic!

The FAA issued new guidance on this on 18 July 2019:

They say that there could be more than 1,000 GA operators who still have old NAT MNPS approvals, and all these operators will need to get new B039 LOAs to be able to continue flying on the North Atlantic beyond 31 Dec 2019.

The new B039 LOA is for “Operations in the North Atlantic High Level Airspace”. To get it, operators need to provide evidence of compliance with the NAT HLA requirements particularly in regard to RNP 10 equipage, flight crew training (including the new contingency procedures), and have operating procedures in place.

Operators will also need to make sure they have an B036 LOA for “Oceanic and Remote Continental Navigation Using Multiple Long-Range Navigation Systems”.

Here’s the lowdown: If you have an old MNPS approval, you need to apply for the B039 LOA very, very soon! The closer we get to the Dec 31 deadline, the stronger the chance that it will take longer for the FAA to process yours, and this means that 2020 will not get off to a good start when you have to explain why you’ve been banned from the NAT! Help yourself, and the FAA, get through this by applying for it as soon as possible.

Mitch Launius is an International Procedures Instructor Pilot with 30West IP and can be contacted through his website: www.30westip.com

Several reports have emerged in the media over the past few days claiming Pakistan has closed a number of airways to Indian carriers, linking these closures to the rising tensions between the two countries over the disputed Kashmir region.

But these reports are not strictly accurate. Pakistan has partially closed some airways in the north of the country used for overflights between India and Afghanistan, which pass over OPDI/Dera Ismail Khan airport – but these particular airway closures have been ongoing since 23rd July. Local agents say these closures are simply due to operational reasons, and not related to the current political situation.

Here’s the Notam which has caused all the fuss:

OPLR NOTAM A0785/19
FLW RTE SEGMENTS OF INTL ATS RTE WI LAHORE FIR WILL NOT BE AVBL
AT OR BELOW FL460 DUE OPS REASONS.

INTL ATS RTE RTE SEGMENT
============ ===========
A466 SAKUV-SAJAN
N644 REGET-D.I.KHAN
P500/M881 LAKRA-D.I.KHAN

ALTN RTE SEGMENT AVBL FOR TRANSITS AT OR ABOVE FL300:
SULOM / LA – INDEK DCT NONIB – HANGU – LAJAK / SITAX (VIA SAJAN) / DOBAT (VIA REGET) AND VICE VERSA.
NOTE: FLT BELOW FL300 TO OPR VIA INDEK DCT 3333N07251E (BTR VOR 114.6 MHZ) DCT KALMI NONIB AND
VICE VERSA.

GND – FL460, FM 06TH AUG TO 05TH SEP 2019 BTN 0245-1100 DLY (EXCLUDING SUNDAYS),
06 AUG 12:30 2019 UNTIL 05 SEP 11:00 2019.
CREATED: 06 AUG 12:43 2019.

So these airways will be closed between 0245-1100z daily (except Sundays) until Sep 5. And there’s an alternate route for operators to use, from SULOM on the Indian FIR boundary, to LAJAK on the Afghanistan FIR boundary. Hardly a big deal.

The rest of Pakistan’s airspace remains open to overflights.

It is true that this week has seen a worsening of diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan with regards to the disputed Kashmir region.

Indian-administered Kashmir has been on lockdown since 5th August, when the Indian government decided to take back control of the region by stripping it of its special constitutional status.

Authorities in Pakistan are not too happy about this, and have responded by downgrading their diplomatic ties with India and suspended trade between the countries. Both countries’ air forces are now on high alert, and there has been daily artillery shelling along the Line of Control by both sides.

But for now, most of the airspace over Pakistan remains open to overflights.

There are four new things to tell you about the North Atlantic, following the flurry of new and updated NAT Bulletins that ICAO issued last week. Get ready for some acronyms! Here’s a summary:

1. OWAFS

Operations Without an Assigned Fixed Speed
ICAO NAT Bulletin 2019_001

We wrote about this before. This Bulletin just formalises the practice that has already been in place since April 2019 in the Shanwick, Santa Maria, and New York Oceanic FIRs (not WATRS).

Here’s how it works: You’ll get a normal oceanic clearance, with a fixed Mach Number, like you always did. But then somewhere after the Oceanic Entry Point, you may get a CPDLC message saying RESUME NORMAL SPEED. You should reply with WILCO. What that means is: Fly ECON, or a Cost Index with Variable Mach. You can fly within 0.01 up or down of your cleared Mach, but if it varies by 0.02 or more you must advise ATC.

2. ASEPS

Advanced Surveillance Enhanced Procedural Separation
ICAO NAT Bulletin 2019_002

ASEPS was another trial that started in April 2019 – this time in the Shanwick, Gander and Santa Maria FIRs.

So far it has only been for longitudinal separation, which can be brought down to as close as 14NM for compliant aircraft (RVSM/HLA approval, ADS-B, and fully PBCS compliant – which means meeting the specifications of RNP4, RCP240 and RSP180).

But in the new Bulletin, from October 2019 they plan to reduce lateral separation for compliant aircraft as well – down to 19NM from the previous limit of 25NM.

There are no plans to change the design of the NAT Tracks, which will continue to be spaced 25NM apart. The initial benefit of the 19NM lateral separation will basically just be that steeper route angles will now be available for pairs of aircraft flying parallel routes outside of the NAT Track system – the current “gentle sloping turn” limitation is 3 degrees latitude between 10 degrees of longitude, but on 10th October 2019 that will change to a limitation of 4 degrees latitude between 10 degrees of longitude. The result of this will be a lateral separation of 19NM on the steeper turning routes.

Images courtesy of 30WestIP

3. Data Link Performance Improvement Options

ICAO NAT Bulletin 2019_003

Nothing to worry about, this is just a list of common datalink errors and what to do about them.

Two key take-aways:

1. Update your aircraft avionics software as soon as updates are available.
2. Answer your messages within 60 seconds or send a Standby message (recent data indicates Business Aviation operators are very bad at this).

4. NAT DLM – The North Atlantic Data Link Mandate

ICAO NAT Bulletin 2017_001_Revision 04

This one is just a slight revision to the plans for the datalink mandate. Datalink is currently required between FL350-390 in the NAT region, and from 30th Jan 2020 this mandate will be extended to between FL290-410.

So with this revised Bulletin, the change is that they have decided they will cap it at FL410 – whereas previously there were no plans for any upper limit at all. This will basically match the NAT HLA and RVSM vertical limits and makes sense. This will allow non-compliant aircraft to continue to operate at FL430 and above – mostly GA/BA operators.

Further reading:

• OPSGROUP members can watch the replay of Member Chat #9, where we discuss all these changes in more detail.
• The last round of important changes on the NAT went into effect on 29th March 2019: the PBCS tracks were expanded; real-time Space-Based ADS-B surveillance and reduced longitudinal separation standards were introduced; and the contingency and weather deviation procedures were changed.
• Check out our NAT Plotting & Planning Chart – updated for July 2019.

Special thanks to Mitch Launius at 30WestIP.com for help with this post. For assistance with international procedures training for business aviation crews worldwide, check out the website.

The Hajj routes for 2019 will take effect from 18 Jul through to 9 Oct.

What are Hajj routes?
Every year, millions of pilgrims travel to Mecca and other sites in Saudi Arabia – and this changes the predominant traffic flow over the African continent. ATC in the FIRs most affected put in place standard routings to help flow that traffic.

Normally, traffic is very much north-south predominant, with Europe-Africa flights being the main flow. When Hajj operations start up, a good amount of traffic starts operating east-west (ie. Africa-Saudi Arabia and vice versa), and this is something to be aware of when cruising along at FL330 with spotty HF comms.

So, in addition to the normal IFBP belt and braces on 126.9, keep an eye out for a much higher amount of crossing traffic during the coming months.

The FIR’s affected are: Algiers, Accra, Brazzaville, Dakar, Jeddah, Kano, Khartoum, N’Djamena, Niamey, Roberts, and Tripoli.

Of these, watch out for Tripoli – risk remains high across Libyan airspace at all flight levels, and multiple countries have “do not fly” warnings in place. There are daily airstrikes taking place, severe limitations in ATC services, and massive areas of the FIR are without surveillance and communications capabilities. Malta FIR is currently managing all east-west routes in this airspace, and operators can contact them for additional information on email: airspace.cell@maltats.com

The Hajj routings are contained in this ASECNA AIP Supplement.

Further reading:

• Read IFALPA’s information on recommended procedures when operating in the African region here.

There’s a new rule for charter flights to Russia, effective 21 JUN, which says you must now seek permission from a bunch of different Russian carriers and companies (a.k.a. the ‘Cartel’) before you can go.

The way it’s written suggests that it applies to all charter flights, even if you fly straight in and out again. But local agents are saying it’s more complicated than that. They say that for aircraft with less than 20 seats, you only need Cartel approval for charter flights with domestic legs in Russia:

Aircraft with less than 20 seats
Routing	Cartel approval required?
LFMN-UUWW-LFMN	No
LFMN-UUWW-ULLI-LFMN	Yes

Aircraft with 20 seats or more
Routing	Cartel approval required?
LFMN-UUWW-LFMN	Yes
LFMN-UUWW-ULLI-LFMN	Yes

Russia is issuing new rules thick and fast at the moment. Last week it was for private flights – to fly domestic legs in Russia you now have to get approval from Customs in advance. If the early feedback from local agents is correct, the new rule issued this week for charter flights seems to have been designed to establish a parallel framework for dealing with foreign commercial operators wanting to fly domestically within Russia.

The process seems fairly straight-forward: you send off an email to the group of Russian carriers and companies, and once you get permission from all of them, you can then apply for your landing permit.

They’re saying that your request for approval should be made at least 5 days in advance of your planned flight. But you also have to then add on extra time to get your landing permit – there’s a 1-day lead time for aircraft with less than 20 seats, and a 5-day lead time for those with 20 seats or more.

Here is the info you need to send them:

• Full company name and postal address, telephone number, e-mail address, and the name of the country that issued your AOC.
• Flight details: date of a flight, flight number, point of departure, point of destination, and anywhere else you’re stopping en-route.
• Aircraft details: type, nationality, and reg.
• Passengers: names and total number, and details of any cargo transported.
• Charterer of the aircraft: name, postal address, and e-mail address.
• Consignor and consignee details

To check out exactly who is in the Cartel, plus the email addresses you should send your requests to, click here if your aircraft has less than 20 seats, and here if it has more than 20 seats.

Once that’s all done, and you have permission from everyone, send copies of everything along with your landing permit application straight to the authorities, at: permit@matfmc.ru and aviapermit@scaa.ru

This is a new procedure, so we expect there will be some teething problems early on, but initial reports from OPSGROUP members suggest that it’s already working, with non-objections coming back from the Cartel fairly quickly.

For full details of this new rule, straight from the horse’s mouth, check out Russian AIP SUP 14/19.

To make it even easier to get a current risk picture for International Flight Ops, we’ve added a bunch of new features to the Conflict Zone & Risk Database at SafeAirspace.net.

Thank you to all OPSGROUP members – all our airlines, aircraft operators, pilots, dispatchers, and industry colleagues who’ve made this possible. Now we have a simple, single source of information for all risk warnings, analysis, that includes our Risk Radar project (so for the first time we can see what other operators are doing), all state warnings, and the ability to auto-generate a live Summary PDF of the current situation.

Start at SafeAirspace.net, where you have the current risk map, and feed of Updates and Alerts:

On each country page, you will now see Risk Radar information like this:

For each country, you’ll see the current list of warnings, both from the country concerned and other states:

Scrolling down, you’ll get the current Notam/AIC/AIP reference and a copy of the text:

For each country, there is a Summary and Analysis, so you get some background on why these warnings exist:

A new feature is the ability to generate a live summary into a PDF, so you can print out everything into one document to share with your crew, dispatchers, and security team:

You can download an example of the PDF, generated on June 19th, 2019, here:

PDF Summary – World Airspace Risk at SafeAirspace.net

Download PDF, 800kb

You can generate your own live PDF here.

About the Conflict Zone & Risk Database

The Conflict Zone & Risk Database provides a single, independent, and eternally free resource for all airspace risk warnings, so that airlines and aircraft operators can easily see the current risk picture for unfamiliar airspace.

Safe Airspace is an initiative from OPSGROUP, an independent organisation with 5000 members, made up of airlines, corporate flight departments, private operators, charter operators, military, and government.

The Conflict Zone & Risk Database was launched in September 2016 as the lifespan of the ICAO CZIR was coming to a close, keeping the work ICAO did on the project alive, and providing the autonomous platform needed to make the concept work.

Objective – one single source

A single source for all risk warnings issued about an individual country, independent of any political or commercial motivation, so that a pilot, flight dispatcher, security department, or anyone responsible for flight safety can quickly and easily see the current risk picture.

Oversight and independence

The CZ&RD is managed by OPSGROUP. Because we are outside the chain of government, we are responsible only to our member airlines and aircraft operators, and more importantly, to the people ensuring a safe flight operation, and to the passengers that fly on our aircraft. For this reason, all information pertinent to a country can be assured to be carried here.

Eternally free

To remain completely independent of any bias, and to ensure that everybody has access, the Conflict Zone & Risk Database is completely free of charge. We have no commercial interest in publishing this information, it exists as a public service because our members care deeply about flight safety.

Contacting us

We rely on your input. If you have information to add, please email report@safeairspace.net. You can also use this address to discuss any content here. The collaborative effort is our focus. We’re still a team of humans, and we miss stuff. If you see something missing here, please tell us!

All submissions are anonymous, and our only concern is for the safety of all airspace users – the crew and the passengers. We appreciate your help.

Update June 17, 2019: We have launched a TSP Victim Support Group for OPSGROUP members, so we can share experiences, and help each other to get the approval. We feel the pain!

Oops, Freudian slip: What we meant was, Australia confirms TSP is required. But trust us, it’s a nightmare.  

A TSP is a Transport Security Program, and if you don’t know what that is yet, prepare for some painful bureaucracy. 

Over the last few years, they exempted lots of corporate and private ops. Now they say they’ve changed their mind. Everybody operating a jet needs one – Private, Charter, Commercial, Air Force One – whoever. You have got to do one, no exceptions. 

The official line is that it takes two months to get one. The best we’ve heard from OPSGROUP members is 40 days. 

If you’ve got a trip planned and need TSP approval quicker than that, you can always check with guidancecentre@homeaffairs.gov.au to be sure – they might be able to help you with a shorter timeframe, but there are no guarantees.

The official guidance on how to apply can be found here, and they have at least been good enough to provide a template application form (all 66 pages of it – ouch!!) which can be found here. If at all possible, save yourself some misery and get someone else to apply on your behalf!

Have you applied for a TSP before? What do they want to see, exactly? What does a good TSP look like? Are you willing to share your approved TSP as a guide to help others? If you send us yours, we’ll anonymize it completely, and it will be used internally within the group as a shining example of perfection! 

There’s a new Customs procedure in Russia that we’re trying to get to grips with. It’s called “Import 53” (IM53), and it affects foreign aircraft looking to do private flights on domestic legs within Russia. It’s a tricky one – so much so that some of the Customs authorities at the airports there in Russia don’t even understand it themselves.

The standard block of text doing the rounds is this:

Please be aware cabotage flights are strictly prohibited in Russia. To perform flights inside Eurasian Economic Union(EAEU) by aircraft with foreign registration, customs clearance must be obtained by aircraft owner in accordance with the customs legislation. Import to the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) of a foreign aircraft of business aviation with dry weight(BOF) less than 28 tons with the number of passenger seats less than 19 without payment of customs taxes is possible according to customs procedure called IM53(Import 53) which must be performed without commercial benefit by aircraft owner, authorized person or by customs broker. Otherwise, 3% of the amount of import customs duties and taxes would be applied upon the release of the aircraft for domestic consumption.

Most of the bigger handling agents at the major airports are sending this out. But what does it mean? We asked a dozen questions to try to get a clear answer, and it seems this is it:

Private flights: you can operate domestic legs in Russia if your aircraft is below 28 tonnes (62,000 lbs) and less than 19 seats – by applying for IM53. If your aircraft busts either of those two metrics (above 28 tonnes, or 19 seats or more) you can’t apply for IM53, and you therefore can’t fly domestic legs in Russia.

And here’s where it gets super annoying – to get IM53 approval, you have to request it direct with Customs yourself, or use a customs broker. From the handling agents we’ve spoken to, they are not allowed to help with this.

(Also watch out for the whole ‘Eurasian Economic Union’ thing – that includes: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan. So watch out if you’re planning on flying between Russia and any these other countries, as Customs will consider it to be a domestic flight!)

We have received reports from members saying that this new rule is already affecting some of their trips to Russia, and that some local Customs at smaller airports are as confused as everyone else about exactly how it interpret them:

Our local handler in [insert second tier Russian city] advises us to cancel the trip there.

The problem is that this Customs procedure, Import 53, is pretty new, and very complicated. It must be opened first in the airport of entry, then closed in the last airport of EAU. Their Customs officers don’t know how to interpret the new rules (probably afraid, who knows?), and refuse to do this.

The last client who arrived to [insert second tier Russian city] had to delay the departure for 6 hours due to the new Customs procedure, and our handler says it is a very good result, and they were lucky.

Our handler cannot guarantee that everything will go well in [insert second tier Russian city], the situation could become worse any time, and there is nothing we can do with Customs. If the customer still wants to go there, it will be at their own risk. 

With the new IM53 rule, the authorities seem to be attempting to establish a standard rule for foreign aircraft operating domestic legs in Russia. Have you been to Russia recently and tried to do a domestic leg? How did it go? Let us know, and help us get the word out.

A large number of operators have been affected this week by a software glitch in some Rockwell Collins GPS receivers. After a few days of head-scratching, the cause of the problem was tracked back to the receivers’ failure to compensate for the “leap second” event which happens once every 2.5 years when the US Government update their satellites – which they did on 9th June.

This meant that certain aircraft equipped with the affected GPS receivers suddenly started getting ‘ADS-B fail’ messages, which initially led to groundings of aircraft which did not have GPS on their minimum equipment lists (MEL).

In a note from Rockwell on Monday 10th June, they advise that the next scheduled update by the U.S. Government to the GPS constellation is set for Sunday 16th June at 0000Z. This is when things should start working again, but they are not guaranteeing this will definitely fix the issue. Rockwell told OPSGROUP it’s a ‘wait and see’ situation.

In the meantime, it seems as though all the affected aircraft have been identified, and you should know at this stage if yours is working or not. Some aircraft remain grounded because there is no MEL relief. Rockwell are advising those who have not powered on their GPS units since the 9th June should leave them switched off. Make sure to check the advice from your OEM – some are advising to pull the GPS circuit breakers to prevent further issues. 

Until the issue is fixed, many aircraft will be forced to fly non-RNP routes below FL280 and navigate VOR-VOR, or else remain on the ground.

For more on this, or if you have something to share, head over to the OPSGROUP forum.

Three months since the Pakistan airspace closure began, there are now finally some options for overflights between Pakistan and India.

Since April, there has only been one airway available for flights between the two countries – airway P518, for westbound flights only.

At that time, Pakistan also published a bunch of Notams saying that they would allow eastbound overflights on a few airways which connect Oman and India through Pakistan’s airspace over the Gulf of Oman, but initially India did not authorise the use of these.

That changed on 2nd June, when India published a Notam saying they would allow eastbound flights to enter Indian airspace at waypoint TELEM.

So now, piecing together the Notams issued by both countries, here are the options for overflights:

Westbound
Airway P518, from waypoint KABIM on the Pakistan/India border in the south, to either KEBUD or ASVIB on the the Pakistan/Iran border in the north.

Eastbound
Choice of two routes from waypoint ALPOR on the Oman/Pakistan border in the west, to waypoint TELEM on the Pakistan/India border in the east.

Some airlines have started using both these eastbound and westbound routes, although many continue to avoid Pakistan by routing south over the ocean instead.

India and Oman both therefore remain congested with extra flights – they have published Notams showing all the restrictions on the various different overflight routes, are advising operators to carry extra fuel, and to expect lower flights levels than requested.

Most of the Pakistan airspace restrictions which were introduced in Feb 2019 have been extended to 27 July: specific routes remain open for international flights to all the main airports in Pakistan, and for east-west overflights of the country (i.e. between China and Iran).

Why?
On Feb 26, Pakistan shot down an Indian military jet and captured a pilot in a major escalation between the two countries over disputed Kashmir. This came a day after India launched air strikes on militant bases across the border in Pakistan, which itself was a response to a deadly attack on Feb 14 when a militant killed more than 40 Indian troops in Kashmir. The captured pilot has since been returned to India, but tensions remain heightened between the two countries in wake of airstrikes by each side in areas in the border region.

Airspace warning
The US FAA has since updated its airspace warning for Pakistan, which now notes that military activity by Pakistan and India in the disputed Kashmir region poses a potential inadvertent risk to aviation at all altitudes. The US continues to warn against flying into or over Pakistan due to the risks posed by “extremist and militant activities”, although it does not recommend any specific minimum safe altitude for overflights; other countries advise FL250 or above, but we think FL300 is more sensible. More info

If you have further ops info to report, please do! Email us at blog@ops.group, or comment below.

Operators to all the main airports in Japan must now sign a statement saying they will take measures to ensure objects don’t fall off the aircraft. The authorities also want you to agree to pay compensation for any incidents where damage is caused by falling objects – potentially also when the falling objects don’t even come from your aircraft!

For the past ten years, Japan has required its own airlines to report any objects falling off aircraft during take-off or landing. But from March 2019, this applies to all foreign operators too. 

Japan published AIC 7/19 on 28 FEB 2019, which outlines the measures they require all crews to take when operating at Japan’s airports. It comes with two attachments which both need to be signed and returned to the Japanese authorities by post, prior to ops.

Technically, you must send hard copies of these to each airport you will fly to in Japan. However, local handler Aeroworks has told us that operators can email them copies of everything by email, along with a power of attorney letter, and they are authorised to pass everything on to local authorities – they can provide this service for most airports in the country.

Attachment 1: This lists all the measures to take, including: completely draining the lav/waste pipes prior to take off to prevent ice blocks from forming, confirming all panel doors are closed, inspecting for leaks, removing rainwater or snow from cargo when loading.

Attachment 2: This is a strange one. It says the following:

“In case that it is unable to identify one specific aircraft which caused the damage by falling objects from aircraft (hereinafter referred to as “the causing aircraft”) and to identify a person responsible for the compensation of the damage, and if the Falling Object Confirmation Committee established in Regional Civil Aviation Bureaus of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism determines a presumably causing aircraft (hereinafter referred to as “the acknowledged aircraft”), the operator of the acknowledged aircraft shall bear the amount of expenses for compensation of the damage, proportionally divided by the number of the acknowledged aircraft.”

If we’re reading that right, that basically means if something falls off a plane and causes damage, and they can’t figure out which specific one it came from, whichever aircraft were in the area at the time may all be required to share the cost of paying for any compensation that may be due!

Over the past few years there have been a number of high-profile incidents in Japan where objects have fallen off aircraft. In September 2017, an aircraft panel fell onto a car driving on a busy street in Osaka; and in May 2018, a hospital in Kumamoto was sprayed with metal fragments from an aircraft that had suffered engine failure after taking off from RJFT/Kumamoto Airport. 

With the Tokyo Olympic Games coming up in July 2020, local authorities are keen to ensure no such incidents occur here.

Airport authorities are looking at ways to increase slot capacity at Tokyo’s airports, and one such measure will be to revise the arrival routes to RJTT/Tokyo Haneda, which will mean that flights will operate almost directly over the city centre – and these new rules regarding objects falling off planes have been implemented in response to this.

Further reading
– The presentation made by the Japanese delegation to ICAO’s Air Navigation Oct 2018 Conference, regarding the various measures taken to prevent objects falling off airplanes in Japan. Check it out here.
– IFALPA has published a Safety Bulletin which provides some great info on the various different approaches that are available at RJTT/Tokyo Haneda, depending on the wind direction and the time of the day, with a focus on the reduced options available if operating overnight. Definitely worth a read if operating to RJTT. Check it out here.